Feliz sew-along

Various parts of this sew-along can be found here:

Feliz part 1: Yardage
Feliz part 2: Prep
Feliz part 3:Overdress
Feliz part 4: Underdress
Feliz part 5: Straps and final assembly


Ok fabric fanatics, ready for some fun? Want to try the Feliz dress but have been intimated by the scuttle-butt? Don't be, this dress is really quite simple when you break it down into sections. I'm going to be making this lovely pattern again, twice actually as I'm getting ready to embark on this for Christmas gifts for my twin nieces. So grab your Feliz pattern, some fun fabrics and get ready for a sew-along.

What you need is the Studio Tantrum Feliz pattern, you can get this from many online vendors including Banberry place, BunteFabrics, Sewzannes , Fabritopia, and probably a few others I don't know about yet. There is already a PDF photo tutorial in English from Studio Tantrum, so if you can't join me in doing this now, you can always follow this in the future. There are also many design examples at Farbenmix, on the Farbenmix Flickr site, and at the Farbenwiki if you want some more inspiration and design ideas.

What I love about this design is the great twirl-ability of it ~ and it looks lovely on every model pic I've ever seen ~ two reasons to make it right there.


Ok now for the fun. After you have the pattern, you need some yardage. Think about how you will put this dress together. It has essentially an apron or overdress, and an underdress. Both of these dresses are composed of different pattern sections, so you can use 2 different fabrics for the apron portion if you like. Note that you don't see a lot of the underdress except during the twirl, so you might choose to make the majority of that one, all one fabric. You can mix up the fabrics a little here to play up the prints or use a solid front and a print under - completely up to you. Add some fun embroidery or applique on the front if you like, or use ribbon trims to embellish.
Here is my plain jane school dress Feliz - pretty simple fabric choices ~ A solid denim top and pretty much one fabric for the underdress. Not too exciting, but perfect for school.


Yardage - the pattern envelope calls for meters of fabric not yards. So you will have to do a little conversion since most fabrics in the US are either 45" or 58-60" wide. The Euro fabric called for in the pattern is 140cm wide or about 55". There is a handy conversion chart here. Plus you will need to convert the length from cm to yards. For example, the size 134/140 Feliz dress calls for 145cm of fabric for the overdress, or about 1.6 yds (let's say 1 5/8 yds). However, I need to use 45" wide fabric, not 55" wide fabric, so I consult the chart and it suggests 2 1/8 yds of 45" fabric, in place of 1 3/4 for 54" fabric (which is the closest estimation on the chart). When in doubt round up, you will probably have extra fabric left over and you could probably get away with less if you are careful cutting it out. Similarly, I need about 2 1/8 yds for the underdress in sz 134.

Ok gather up your supplies and we'll start in a few days, i'll give you time to get that pattern ordered if you need to. Meanwhile, I will start snapping photos.

Feliz part 2: Prep
Feliz part 3:Overdress
Feliz part 4: Underdress
Feliz part 5: Straps and final assembly