Hi everyone! Yasmeen here from _ym.sews_ bringing you my take on the Blank Slate Patterns Marbella dress.
I have a bit of an obsession with long swooshy maxi skirts, and I’ve used the BSP Catalina dress pattern in the past to make two epic maxi dresses (complete with cool scoop front pockets). I have been eyeing up both versions of the Marbella maxi dress for a long time now. The sewing team skirt theme was the perfect chance to bring more maxi joy to my handmade wardrobe.
I can tell you now that the Marbella did not let me down! Waiting for a dry day to photograph this dress paid off, as the only dry day I found was really windy, which actually showed how floaty the skirt of the dress is! So despite me looking slightly windswept you can get an idea of the awesome volume in the skirt!
I chose a great medium weight scuba crepe to for this dress, and chose a khaki colourway as I love the colour and have far too little of it in my handmade wardrobe right now! I also wanted a dress I could dress up or down. Sometimes I think maxi dresses can feel a little formal, so I added a simple waist tie to my version to split the dress up a little and make my version more relaxed.
Adding a waist tie was really easy. I just cut two long strips of my fabric 32” by 3.5”, then I sewed them right sides together with a 2/8” seam allowance, with an angle seam to a point closing one end. Then I turned the ties right side out (which was really easy given their thickness) and pressed them flat. I sewed my front bodice to the front skirt, and back bodice to back skirt, and finally sandwiched the tie in between these front and back dress pieces I had made and sewed the side seams in one go from the sleeve to dress hem. My ties are placed so they are covering the waist seam allowance, which creates a look I love.
As for the pattern, what can I say?! Melissa has never disappointed with a pattern to date. I often find trouble with necklines on patterns that are not boat or scoop neck. They seem to sit really funny on my neck and usually require me to take wedges out of the neckline to help them lay flat. This v-neck front is the most flattering neckline I’ve ever found, and bonus points in that I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the neckline at all! This pullover version of the pattern comes with neckline facing pieces which create a lovely clean finished neckline. I love the structure this gives to the neckline of the dress.
In terms of adjustments, the only I made were my usual tall modifications. I lengthened the bodice by 1.5” and the skirt by 4.5”. I would have ideally lengthened the skirt a tad more but ran out of fabric! Next time I’ll buy that little bit more fabric to allow me to make a fully floor sweeping Marbella.
I made a couple of slight alterations to the pattern. Firstly I decided not to cut the back bodice on the fold. As I was making the maxi version in a plain colour I thought it would add a little extra interest to seam two back bodices together and topstitch along the seam to create a little feature. Secondly I decided to make faux cuffs by using the elbow length sleeve pieces and turning them up a couple of times before hand tacking the cuffs in place at the underarm seam and directly opposite this seam.
I really love this pullover version of the pattern and I’m already dreaming up my next as a maxi button down in a slightly lighter weight knit fabric. Sewing with knits is such a dream, and the comfort factor of knits wins me over every time I have a choice between a knit or woven!
Until next time!
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