My Fibremood Gladys Dress
With Cover Button Tutorial*All links to the Fibremood Gladys Dress contained within this blog post are affiliate links*
It's not often I have a reason to wear a nice, fancy dress but with two weddings to attend this September it was perfect excuse to make something extra special.
Some of my favourite sites to browse lots of different styles of dress patterns are Sew Over It and Fibremood as they have so many options depending on what look you want to go for. After much deliberation I went for the Fibremood Gladys dress*, which can be bought as a PDF directly from the Fibremood website. The individual PDF patterns all come with files that have the seam allowance included so you can print out the pattern format you prefer using our PDF pattern printing service.
I love the style of this midi length dress with the frill section around the front and back yoke. It almost looks like an oversized collar from first glance. It's looser fitting but with a waistline drawstring you can create shape and definition to it. The midi length skirt can vary in length as it is just simple rectangles and can either have a gathered bottom tier or left long and straighter.
It has a delicate v-shaped neckline with a button band in the bodice section. I choose one of the stunning Bonnie prints from the Fabric Godmother range of fabrics. It took me a while to choose between the emerald and hot pink colour way but I went for the hot pink in the end! Trying to get a button to match just wasn't going to do the fabric justice so I decided to make my own cover buttons! This is a great way to give a professional finish to a garment and all you need is a needle and thread and some fabric scraps!
I found the fit of this pattern was true to size. My body measurements put me at a size 10 and I didn't make any adjustments to that.
One of the weddings was a whole family affair so I made a dress for Sophia as well. She didn't want to have exactly the same fabric as me, but I was pleased she picked the Emerald colour way of the Bonnie print as I love that one so much too! I use the I Am Patterns Cassiopee Mini pattern but added a frill at the waist seam to tie in with the design of my dress.
Cover Button Tutorial
In my latest Youtube video, I'm sharing my Gladys Dress along with a video tutorial on making cover buttons. Or if you prefer pictures and written instructions, read on.
You will need
- A pack of cover buttons (You can get metal and plastic ones and different sizes as well to suit your project.)
- Some scraps of fabric
- Hand sewing needle and thread
On the back of the packaging will be a circle template. Use this to cut a circle of your project. If you fabric is fraying a lot cut the fabric circle very slightly bigger than the template.
Step One - Sew a running stitch around the circle
Ensure you have a double length of thread on your needle and tie a knot at the end. Sew a small running stitch around the outside edge of the circle.
Step Two - Place the button front into the fabric circle
With the smooth side of the button facing the back of the fabric, place it in the middle of the circle and start to draw on the thread to pull the fabric around it.
Draw on the thread really tightly and smooth out the fabric around the edges of the button front.
The fabric should now all be gathered tightly.
Step three - place the back of the button on
Next, place the back of the button over the gathered fabric with the thread still sticking out. Ensure that all the raw edges and loose fibres from the fabric are tucking in and under the back of the button. Sometimes using a pin can help with this.
Step four - secure the back of the button
Finally secure the back of the button in place but squeezing it really tightly between your fingers. You should feel it lock together and then the thread can be trimmed off.
If you are finding this final stage tricky, some packs of cover buttons come with a little tool set that you can use along with a hammer to gently tap the front and back together.
From my personal experience I find them quite difficult to use while maintaining control of the fabric and button front/back sections, which is why I do it manually, but if you are finding it hard that way, do give the tool set a try.
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