This week we are thrilled to bring you the Mondrian dress sewing pattern hack from this year’s Great British Sewing Bee. In this post we’ll give you a little bit of history about the dress, suggested fabrics you can use and our top tips for acing this vintage sewing pattern.
The Mondrian dress is one of the most iconic dresses of the 20th Century designed by Yves Saint Laurent back in the swinging sixties. The designer created a series of striking dresses characterised by blocks of white and primary coloured fabric separated by vertical and horizontal strips of black fabric. The dress appeared on the front cover of French Vogue magazine in 1965 and copies soon filtered their way down the fashion food chain and into high street stores making the dress and versions of it hugely popular. In fact our very own Angela had a mini dress version she purchased from C&A -twit twoo! The dress was named after artists Piet Mondrian who was the source of Yves Saint Laurent’s inspiration for the design.
The original garments were made using both wool jersey and silk to ensure the dress hung well and the intended shape of the garment was not distorted. Each block of colour was created using a separate piece of fabric requiring precision cutting and sewing to create a seamless effect.
We think this dress is absolutely timeless and with this special edition Mondrian inspired sewing pattern hack you can have a wardrobe classic and join in with the Sewing Bee fun too.
Our recommended fabrics include our John Kaldor Roanne jersey fabric and Prestige medium weight crepe fabric. Both fabrics are the most beautiful quality and wash and wear brilliantly so you can be confident your masterpiece will stand the test of time. Both fabrics are available in red, cream and black or why not mix it up and go for a different colour way adding your own creative flair to your design. We also have the perfect lining fabric available in white to give your garment a truly professional finish.
I've recently made a red Burda dress and a cream and black Orla blouse using the Prestige fabric and can honestly say it is a pleasure to work with and hangs beautifully. Some our Prestige gunmetal fabric actually made it to the TV soap awards last month, worn by Hollyoaks actress Nadine Mulkerrin, so as you can see it really is a glamorous and high quality fabric worthy of the red carpet. Angela has made a great deal of garments using Roanne and has nothing but praise for this top quality fabric too.
When tackling this Sewing Bee challenge take extra care to ensure your cutting is spot on and you line your fabrics up accurately when pinning to ensure crisp, sharp lines. When sewing the garment, using a machine foot with a seam guide will help you to achieve the straight lines that are so important to perfect the look and give a truly professional finish. I use this seam guide foot for my Husqvarna sewing machine and couldn't live without it! Not only is it great for achieving straight seams it is also really handy for going round corners accurately too. We have a wide range available for a variety of sewing machine brands here so you can pick the one that is right for you. If you decide to use the Roanne fabric use a stretch needle in your sewing machine for the best results.
There’s no doubt about it this dress will certainly make a statement at any occasion, but is simple and classic enough that you will wear it again and again. With it’s flattering silhouette and demure hemline it will suit most figure types.
So let's do it ladies and head back to the sixties in Sewing Bee style.
Shopping List
Mondrian dress sewing pattern hack
John Kaldor Roanne jersey fabric or Prestige crepe fabric
A seam guide foot can be very useful such as this one for ultimate precision with your seams we have a range of brands available (check for compatibility with your machine)
Have fun sewing!
Lucy
For more tips and tricks on how to make sewing easy you can follow our blog via Bloglovin and receive updates via email each time a new post is added.
Follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram for news, tutorials, special offers, sales and more.