Nettie Dress

Sooo... my sister is a big Argentinian tango fan. She takes lessons, goes to milongas, she even lives with a tango professor. So when I asked her what I could sew for her, her answer was not some normal dresses, jeans or whatever, but her tango outfits. “And you can use any scraps for that, do not worry,” she added.

Hmmm, that was not an easy one. The thing is that after a little pinteresting and discussing on what a real tango outfit is, I realized that I do not have many stretch or jersey fabrics at home and that basically I have never sewed with really stretchy jersey. But little internet research and I figured out that it was workable with my sewing machine if I have the right fabrics and a few jersey-special tools.

We ordered a bunch of jerseys during the July sales period which arrived quite in advance, so I thought I would just test sewing with it beforehand. I have actually ordered little more fabric, saying that I could definitely use it for something for me. I then pulled out some black jersey ponte di Roma (viscose/poly/lycra) for testing.

In the end, I had actually the same issue with patterns, till I found the Nettie dress pattern. Not sure if I am ready for the bodysuit, but the Nettie dress is actually a great bsic block for jersey dresses. Once the fit is done on the dress, you can reuse it for a top, or a skirt, or another, more interesting dress. Also, if I fit it to myself, there is a high probability the fitting to my sister will not take much time.

And again, I was so surprised by the speed of sewing a jersey garment. I was really happy, I did not use a Burda pattern, and the instructions were really, really helpful! I was worried I would stretch the neckline or something else, but in the end, it all worked perfectly.

The only thing I need to change for the next Nettie is a shoulder adjustment (shortening) which I should not do. The dress is slightly shorter in the armscye area and tends to stretch under the arms. I will lengthen it to the original size again.

The final dress is quite different from what I am used to but I like it a lot. Simple and secret pyjama, so will definitely get worn. And I am even planning on sewing another one. Or another jersey dress….