The Sew Over It Eve dress has become a cult classic in the sewing community. Come spring, it seems like everyone is whipping up those flutter sleeves and dipped hems. Beautiful! While that version is most popular, I was really drawn to the other option featuring a straight hem and narrow mid-length sleeves. Paired with the right fabric, it makes a fantastic all-occasion, year-round staple and a great candidate for the Work to Weekend segment of my wrap dress project! I finished this dress a couple weeks ago and I’ve barely taken it off! I wore it to my in-laws’ anniversary celebration as well as the weekly market. I love that I can dress it up and down, and it’s so comfortable!

Pattern

 

Eve features a gathered yoke, a semi-cirlce skirt and skinny tie belt. The romantic 70’s inspired version features a drapey high-low hem and flutter sleeve. It’s a lovely choice for a summer sun dress or even a wedding guest dress. In contrast, the other version is much more everyday with its narrow sleeve and straight hem. Because the only shaping is the soft gathering at the yoke, a fabric with lots of drape is a must. The neckline is finished by simply folding and stitching over the stay taped edge.

Fabric

I bought this florally-abstracty viscose twill in February at the Lapjesmarkt in Utrecht. I feel like the neutral monochrome color scheme balances the large scale floral, keeping it office appropriate. It’s so soft and swishy and I love it so much now that it’s finished! It was really tough to handle. I was kicking myself for not starching it. It slipped, frayed and stretched like crazy. Since it was non-directional, I ended up with almost a meter leftover – just enough for a little top!

Sewing

I must admit that I had some struggles with this make. Overall, it’s a simple pattern, but I really wrestled with my fabric. While I’m thrilled with my end product, I think the pattern and fabric weren’t the best match in terms of construction. Without an overlocker, the instructions suggest zigzagging the edges and pressing all seams open. This was not a good choice for this fabric – it was fraying everywhere! The inside of my dress is a crazy mix of french seams, clean-finished edges, pinking and zigzagging. The fray was also a big problem in the bodice finish. It just seemed like the fabric was going to pull away from the stay tape, so I added an additional turn over to the edge. The front looks fine, but the back neckline is a bit lumpy and untidy.

Before finishing the neckline, the pattern instructions say to ease in the neckline into the cut of stay tape to make up for any stretching. My flimsy viscose twill stretched way, way too much to be eased in. I tried my best, but I simply had to use more stay tape. For this fabric, I think a fusible stay tape would have worked a lot better since it would have worked to prevent the stretching rather than trying to repair after.

I also made one fit alteration that was new for me, but I’ll be doing from now on. The small arm joint adjustment! Until this point, I had been diagnosing my sleeve issues as needing a broad back adjustment, but actually my problem is with the armhole and sleeve itself. For this pattern, I shaved a centimeter off the top of the sleeve head and increased the seam allowance in the yoke and shoulder seams to 2 centimeters. Yay for range of motion!

Make Breakdown

Pattern: Sew Over It Eve
Fabric & Notions: 3.5 Meters (less for non-directional prints); 1.6 Meters Stay Tape
Design Modifications: Double turn on the neckline
Fit Alterations: Small Arm Joint Adjustment
Difficulty: Confident Beginners
Tricky Bits: Working with drapey fabric
Proud Moments: Properly diagnosing and fix the shoulder/sleeve fit issue. SAJA for the win!
Future Plans: Yes! I want a pastel, girly, summery, flowy, romantic, flutter-sleeved version!

Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed pattern and I love, love, love my Eve dress! Stay tuned for the last dress in the Work to Weekend segment coming soon!