Renfrew Maxi dress, take 1

Before leaving on vacation I really wanted to play around with the Sewaholic Renfrew t-shirt pattern and possibly make a maxi out of it. I managed to grade up the pattern but ran out of time and didn’t get to make a muslin. So I settled for another maxi, New Look 6230. I knew it would fit being a plus size pattern. I love it but I still want something drapey for the summer. Talk about perfect timing. I got home and was pointed to (thanks Joanne!) Four Square Walls blog and saw a tank version of the Renfrew. So much better than the sleeved version I had in my head. And Andrea offered some great advise for binding the sleeves: use the neckband! Genius. With that info in mind I went ahead and made my maxi.

I added a total of 4 inches to the size 16 bodice (1 inch to each pattern edge) and left the neckband pattern piece alone since it didn’t need any adjustments. From shoulder to hem the dress measures about 54 inches. Next time I’ll add a wee bit more to the length.

I used some 4-way stretch jersey and found it hard to work with. A lot of my trouble came from inexperience. I’ve never worked with knit before and it took me some time (an hour?) to figure out the right settings for my machine. The pattern calls for stable knit fabric but since I was just doing a test run I went for it. I used some yummy red remnant fabric I bought ages ago at Rolls and Rems.

The fit is spot on so I am definitely ready to get going on a few more maxis. I have yet to test out the entire t-shirt pattern so that’s coming up too!