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Days are getting colder, but I wanted to sew a last Summer ’22 dress!
I had some remnants from Minerva’s lovely viscose challis* and Itch to Stitch had a new pattern to be tested, the Fisterra dress and top*.
Let’s see it in details.
Fisterra, a dress or a top
Itch to Stitch* is known for her top or dress patterns.
Fisterra‘s size range goes from US 00 to 40 (with various cup sizes (AA to DD). It features shirring on the back waistband, a V neckline, gathers underneath the shoulder seams, etc.
Fisterra* is fully lined too.
A key detail is on the sleeves. They have box pleats at the sleeve head and you choose to do a pleated cuff as well.
A drapey woven is needed. However, if you want to sew the pleated cuffs, your fabric must have some body.
Mine was too soft and lightweight to be pleated nicely. Hence an hemmed edge.
My Fisterra dress
I used this Minerva exclusive viscose challis* for my Fisterra dress. I had already transformed into an Eliana dress and I knew it would be the perfect fabric for a drapey dress.
According to my measurements, I was a size 4 bust (B cup) graded to 6 for waist and hips. However, after a quick look at the finsihed measurements chart, I opted to sew a straight size 4.
No alteration made whatsoever, it was nice from the start.
First time shirring and I adored it! That was fun seeing the fabric grew smaller after each row. No need for steam, it shirred on its own! I bought some shirring elastic* and I checked on Janome’s website if I had to hand wind or if I could use the automatic bobbin winder (the latter was advised, my machine is the 6700P). Shirring went well: I did the 6 rows with one bobbin.
This dress is fully lined. I should have chosen some voile instead of polyester for the sake of breathability.
I’ll make some aletrations for my next Fisterra:
- crepe and cotton voile
- narrow shoulder adjustment
- lengthening the bodice (1 cm)
- Shortening the skirt, above the knees
Tip: when doing narrow hems, I like to serge first, then press the hem twice. Serging gives some structure to flimsy fabrics like challis and makes hemming easier.
