Good morning all (or whatever it may be where you are).
Today i bring to you.....The Faspen. My own little pattern hacked mishmash dress of dreams.
Guess which pattern this is based on.
You probably haven't been able to escape the massive popularity of The Aspen dress by Fabric Godmother which has taken the sewing community by storm. Of course the alternate to this pattern is the McCalls M8553 which is.....pretty similar. You may have seen, and if you haven't do go have a watch, Alison of SewLikeDotty give a comparison of the two. It was actually Alison who inspired me to make this as I really liked her version in the same fabric.
She also gave little ol' me a shout out! Because I 'copied' the dress and made my own version. And you can too if you so wish. Faspen - Faux Aspen - you get it.
The fabric is a 4oz denim from Pound Fabrics and was absolutely perfect for this project as it is soft, drapes well but still had a bit of body in it not to look too floppy and hold the zip well. I think a viscose wouldn't hold the zip weight and could possibly pull forward.
The bodice of this pattern is the Tilly and the Buttons Lyra shirt dress. I simply folded the front bodice pattern piece down the button line to remove the placket - voila, that's where you pop a zip. (My bodice is a size 7 but with narrowed shoulders and darts removed.)
I inserted the zip with a piece of bias binding behind it, top stitching it down, so that the itchy part of the zip wasn't touching my skin. An adjustment I would definitely recommend if that sort of thing bothers you.
A moment just to appreciate the cuteness of this zip pull please...
Two patch pockets later and you have yourself a Faspen bodice.
The skirt was just an A-line shape which I free-handed a bit. I then realized the Megan Neilsen Matilda Dress had a really similar shape so I pinked the pocket pieces from that and the curve shape of the hem. I was not a massive fan of the gathered skirt on the original pattern and as I'm a bit 'middle chonky' an A-line was my preferred shape. You do you though.
Attach the pockets and then the skirt to the bodice and there you have it.
I opted to make a belt to go with it and cover the waist seam. I like making these little fabric belts and I had a bit of fabric left to play with. The buckle on this is a bag slider/tri-glide together with a little loop sewn up to tuck in the end.
I popped a couple of belt loops on each side of the dress just to keep it in place whilst wearing.
The most significant thing about this dress is that I HAVE ACTUALLY WORN IT. Can confirm it is very comfortable. The belt keeps working its way loose so I may have to swap that out - otherwise The Faspen Wins!
What do you think of this version? Worth a go? Do let me know what you've been making :)
Wishing everyone well and thank you for stopping by - feel free to comment and come and say hello on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Bloglovin too xxx
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