Fibremood 15: The Edda Dress

For those of you not aware, I have indigenous blood through my great grandmother, specifically Charrua, that were almost all completely wiped out. I grew up with stories of my great grandmother and how she was just such a force for her generation. She essentially did whatever the hell she wanted and needed nobody’s approval to do so. So this dress is greatly inspired by the women in my family, specifically my mother, grandmother, aunt, my oldest female cousin and of course my great grandmother. They’re all badass women that raised me to be the woman I am today and also raised me to wear all the colours my heart desired. So this dress is exactly that, a mashup of all my favourite fabrics with the hispanic flare of my familia.

All fabrics used in this dress were picked up from Harmony Provo. We have a Kaffe Fassett floral and polka dot, a white and pink gingham deadstock from LA and a mustard yellow cotton from Alison Glass. Even the belt was made from vintage trim from Harmony Provo that I folded and sewed together. I plan to make a tutorial for that soon, if you're interested. In terms of piecing the fabrics together I eyeballed it. There weren't really any measurements taken. I just started cutting strips and hoped for the best. It came together without too many hiccups. The only downside was that it was a little time consuming before I even got to cut out the actual dress pattern.

Now to the Edda dress construction. Everything was very well written in the instructions but don’t let the look of the dress fool you, the neckline is fiddly and time consuming due to the button closure. I was happy with how mine ended up looking but I would recommend looking at those instructions first before you proceed. Just so you know what’s coming and plan time accordingly. I also sized down in this dress and probably sized down too many sizes. I made the medium but had to cut my sleeve openings wider. Next time I’ll make it in the size large. It is designed to be over-sized but if that’s not your thing you can go down one size. Aside from the button closure at the neckline everything else is straightforward and simple, making the rest of the dress construction pretty time efficient.

Overall, I really love the details of this dress and how I was able to put a piece of my family into it. I had been meaning to do a dress like this for a long time but I was actually worried about how bright it would be. Silly, I know. I couldn’t be happier with the result and every time I wear it I remember the long line of strong females that I come from.