The Magnolia dress can be sewn in many different types of lightweight fabric: lawn, cotton voile, rayon twill or crepe, silk… but to pick the ideal fabric, you’ll first need to decide for which occasion you’d like to make this dress, and in which version!
With its long skirt, version A should ideally be made from tightly woven fabric that can withstand the weight of the skirt without stretching: rayon crepe (not challis), silk, lawn or cotton voile. With very thin fabrics, you might want to reinforce the waistband by lining or interfacing it, so that it keeps its shape.
Version B gives more leeway in terms of fabric choice! Just be mindful of the drape: the butterfly sleeves of this version will be much prettier in a fluid fabric such as rayon, silk, or double-gauze.
Prints
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9
The Magnolia dress can showcase prints particularly well, as long as their scale is small enough so that they are not cut off by the skirt panels! Flowers, dots, plaid, geometric patterns… anything goes!
Solids
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9
If you’d like to sew Magnolia out of a solid fabric, we recommend being particularly careful about the quality of the fabric, so the dress keeps its elegant look. If you want to use a cotton, look for heather colors or subtle embroideries that will add depth and texture to the fabric.
Have you already picked your fabric for Magnolia? Tell us about it!
2 commentaires
Camille, October 11 2018
It would really depend of the fabric. For a light-colored thin voile, you might indeed have to line the skirt. For reference, our sample for version B is made ouf of a thin cotton gaze that was a little see-through on the bolt, and we lined the front bodice, waistband, and skirt. We did not line the sleeves or the back bodice.
Terri, October 11 2018
I love some of the prints you have suggested but I am concerned if I would need to line the skirt if using a voile or lawn? Perhaps the skirt is full enough that it would not require a lining? Comments or suggestions welcomed!