Pattern Hack DRESS - Adrienne meets Rita!

I had a hack attack ...

The Pattern(S)

It'll surprise no one to learn that I love the Rita Blouse by Charm Patterns, seeing as I've made it THREE times, and then hacked it into a dress TWICE.

But then I saw the Adrienne blouse by Friday Pattern Company and the hamsters started running circles in my head again!

Meet the Rita Blouse MEETS Adrienne Blouse MEETS dress hack!

The BODICE is The Rita Blouse, the SLEEVES are the from The Adrienne Blouse and the SKIRT is a self drafted skirt with a flounce at the hem.

The Fabric

This beautiful floral silk from Tessuti Fabrics was enough to tempt me away from my solid colours.

It's a beautiful fabric that I purchased and made this skirt with back in 2014 (yep).

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Sep 12, 2014 at 8:11pm PDT

I liked the fabric so much I panic purchased another two metres and I finally decided to stop staring at it and actually use it.

The bodice and skirt is underlined with a light (and white) linen for extra body, and the sleeves and flounce are just the single layer of silk.

My previous Rita Blouses and Dress Mashups

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Jan 4, 2019 at 1:33pm PST

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on May 13, 2019 at 3:35am PDT

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A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Dec 8, 2018 at 8:10pm PST

The Details

The Rita blouse has an ELASTICISED neckline and sleeve cuffs, so it was easy to substitute the Adrienne sleeve pattern, which also has elasticised sleeves and neck edging.

The BODICE is gathered under the bust, and then shaped with princess seams below the bust to the hem.

The Dress is closed with an INVISIBLE ZIPPER on the side seam. 

I took the zipper all the way up to the arm pit to try and maximise the opening for when putting on the dress. The underbust seam always has to be man-handled to get it past my bust when putting the dress on.

Final Thoughts

It's not often I wear a print, so when I do I go HARD.

This was a quick and straight forward make, and I'm glad I finally put this stunning fabric to good use; just in time for a Melbourne Spring,

Floral Silk - A Rita Blouse Dress Hack

This dress was actually my first make of 2019 and guys, it's a PRINT! WHO EVEN AM I THIS YEAR??!!!

I love prints, I truely do, but when I put fabric under a needle, inevitably it is a solid colour.

In fact, last year I made 19 garments and only ONE of them sort of qualified as a print. So I'm feeling VULNERABLE right now.

The Pattern

It's the Rita Blouse by Charm Patterns hacked into a dress. I've done it before in a bright red cotton seersucker which you can see below:

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Ciao a tutti! 💃🏻💃🏻 Looking a bit #italian 🇮🇹 in my DRESS HACK of the #ritablouse by @gertie18 ✔️ traced pattern to waistline markings. ✔️converted darts to princess seams on my skirt pattern which I attached to the bodice to make a dress pattern. ✔️comfortable cotton seersucker ✔️ added flounce to hemline ✔️side zipper and different pattern pieces for cup size B-DD. . THIS dress is quick and comfortable. So expect to see this in a million different colours this summer. K thanks. . . . #thelittlereddressproject #reddress #sewing #sewersofinstagram #memade #charmpatterns #hack #offtheshoulder

A post shared by Julia Bobbin (@juliabobbin) on Dec 8, 2018 at 8:10pm PST

The Fabric

My sister recently got married and for her hen's (bachelorette) night, the theme was floral. I love a good theme and decided to make my own dress.

I had this beautiful, delicate silk chiffon in my stash that seemed perfect, but being chiffon it was super sheer and thin.

I decided to underline it with a cotton poplin to give it body and stop it from being see-through and it worked a treat! The poplin also helped the colour of the silk look even more vibrant.

The Details

This dress is underlined but not lined. It closes with an invisible zipper down the side seam and is finished with a flounce at the hem.

The bodice is gathered under the bust and centre back yoke, and shaped with ELASTIC around the neckline.

The SLEEVES can be worn on or off the shoulders depending on the look or mood.

I added a few SOFT PLEATS to the centre front of the bodice yoke to give the neckline more of a sweetheart shape.

Final Thoughts

This dress feels light and comfortable, but has that glamorous touch that gives the garment that little 'extra'.
It has already become one of my most worn me-mades and is the perfect 'day to night' transition dress.

Here's to more printed fabrics in my future!