Sew Over It Eve Dress

If you haven't seen an SOI Eve you must have een living under a rock - it's ubiquitous! SOI's pattern is a simple and beautiful make. I expected to hate the flutter sleeves as too girly, but I actually really love them, and I loved the whole process of putting them together.

I made a 16 at the shoulder, 20 at the waist, 16 at the hips – which has resulted in a better fit around my shoulders than I’ve achieved before - but I need to work on my techniques for FBAs on a wrap, as I've ended up with a gaping or very low neckline.

Definitely one to make again, I want to try the slimmer sleeves and see if I can make a work-appropriate version.

More on my process here: https://aitcheysews.wordpress.com/2019/06/30/eve-floaty-and-fun-to-make/

If you are even considering making this dress, I encourage you to do it now!

This dress was a joy to sew. It came together easily that my husband even commented on what how quickly it came together. It helps that there are no zips or fastenings. 

The instructions were perfect—not too much information but detailed enough to walk you through. I loved being given options to use cotton stay tape, ribbon or clear elastic to stabilise the neckline depending on what you have on hand. Each step felt very considered, ensuring a beautiful finish but without any overcomplicated construction techniques in order to achieve this.

This was my first Sew Over It pattern, and I was extremely impressed with how accurately the pieces fit together without any need to ease anything in. My sleeves inserted without a fight, the hole in the side seam for the waist tie was exactly the perfect size for my ties, side seams lined up beautifully when stitching the waist together. Everything just fit.

I now want to make all the versions of this dress. I know that it will change dramatically with different fabrics, and I can't wait to make more!

The Eve dress is the perfect summer wrap dress. It can be a little fabric hungry but the full dipped hem skirt gives it an elegant summer feel.
I made the size 10 which is my normal size and made no adjustments. It’s very important to add stay tape to the front wrap section to ensure that it doesn’t pull out of shape on the bias.
I added the fluted sleeves to add to the light summer feel.

I made this for a friend’s wedding in August and loved it so much I ended up wearing it to another wedding a week later. Its neckline is high enough to be appropriate for church, the wrap is adjustable so it doesn’t get uncomfortable after a big hog roast and the skirt is hella swishy which makes it perfect for superhero style dancing. Basically, it’s an all round perfect wedding guest dress!

The Sew Over It instructions were clear as always and the fabric was surprisingly ok to work with. I used a beautiful Lady McElroy linen-look viscose from Like Sew Amazing. When I pre-washed it I was really concerned as it came out as a tiny wrinkly ball. Thankfully, it hadn’t shrunk as much as I thought and a good iron sorted it out. As the fabric had a bit of stretch in it the stay tape on the bias cut neckline was a must. Despite a small bit of stretching, it looked fine in the end.

I found the shoulder seams were slightly too far down and it came out very long (I'm 5 foot 4) but other than that the fit was quite good. I actually like it longer!

If you'd like a more in depth review you can find it on my blog https://thestitchedit.wordpress.com/2018/09/03/soi-eve-dress-my-ultimate-wrap-dress/

This is my second Eve dress. I sized down from my measurements (usually align with a size 10) to a size 8 for a closer bodice fit which has worked well. I also shortened mine by about 10cm (it sits a little shorter than I intended, but works!). I absolutely love this (I think it's peachskin) colourful fabric from fabrics galore.
Full review on my blog at http://www.thepetitepassions.com/2018/07/the-perfect-wedding-guest-dress-sew.html