I tried to make a Reformation dress... and it was chaos.

Hello everyone and welcome to a new video!

Does something every just grab your attention and you can't quite explain why? That's how I felt about this dress. I saw it in one TikTok and couldn't stop thinking about it for months. It's so simple, the style lines and construction are nothing extraordinary, but something about it just absolutely captivated me. After a disappointing trip to the Reformation shop and a successful one to a fabric store, I bought a few supplies and decided to attempt it. I bought four meters of lightweight green textured chiffon for £4 p/m, and 3 meters of stretch grey cotton sateen for £8 p/m. I also got some thread, a zipper, and two patterns from Etsy which I'll link below.

Over all, I think it was a good attempt! It was interesting to try and come to terms with modern techniques and construction (and I've still got a long way to do), but I also really enjoyed it. The dress is not exactly what I was hoping for, but it is still a cute dress, and I've learned so much that in my head I'm categorising it as a wearable mock-up, and maybe one day, with a better skirt, I can attempt it again!

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Instagram (perhaps overactive stories): @catscostumery

Music is from Epidemic Sound.

[margisshenanigans]

Thie dress is gorgeous Cat! This is the literal DEFINITION of: I see it, I like it, I want it, I make it. Not only did you make that dress, but you made it yours, and it’s fantastic😊

[zoes_story]

Rosery Apparel has an amazing Shirring tutorial. She also uses steam to shrink the elastic a little bit and it's like wizardry. It makes shirred panels look a lot tighter and tidier 💕

[murrvvmurr]

I literally made this last "field of fire" summer out of Jansen Ankara cotton. I boned the bodice because 50 y.o. boobs. for a pattern I combined two Marlene Mukai patterns. no slit, because 50, and I made it longer for taste. I also purchased a goddamn yardstick! I made the straps wider but the sexiness is strong with this one!

[ColorwaveCraftsCo]

Love the color of your version and I love how you took the original as inspiration instead of trying to do a 100% copy. The final dress turned out amazing and most importantly NOT 300 quid!

[croitoriafaraformule]

I also think fabric shopping for material instead of buying ready made is always a good ideea :-) Looks very good on you!

[ivorygleam]

I really like the godets you hacked into the skirt. Almost feel like the side slit was unnecessary once those were installed. Love the emerald green color, it really suits you!

Also, pattern recommendations rock! I was literally looking at this pattern the other day as my first try at a corset/bustier top. To see someone succeed with it, makes we want to dash and add to cart!

[annh.]

Very cute video, I like it when people who sew show mistakes, and how they fix them, it really helps. The dress turned out lovely. Happy new year!

[belindacoba]

I like that you chose a different color for the lining, it does play well with the exterior fabric, it kind of give the efect of those that have two different color thread!!

[Rhaifha]

I wonder if for the original dress, the skirt was cut on the bias? I think that's generally what they do for those figure hugging swooshy skirts.

[elizabethrobles]

I absolutely adore you. And tho it’s not the original dress and to be honest cant be bc it’s the way it falls on her leggy body (mistake I keep making also) you’ve made a wonderful dress that is ‘me made’ and used your artistic skills. Well done. I love all your honest mistakes and watching you grow inspires me to take chances and grow also. Thank you 🎉

[melissamybubbles]

I'm only about half way through the video. I'll go on a walk and I'll watch the rest. I'm glad you get to make a fun dress.

[tovekjellerd]

The dress is gorgeous and so are you Cat!

[glittergoblin]

It was really interesting to see you work on a contemporary garment! Learned some new construction tips about linings and bodice cups! And I know there were a number of things you would tweak, and hearing that was also useful as I keep learning!

[araneljones]

New viewer! I used to make children's clothing for a small boutique a few years ago, and we did almost all woven cotton, which doesn't stretch. We started applying shirring for help in fitting, and the main trick I learned was to steam the shirring after sewing. It shrank every time. I don't know how well this would work with polyester, so be aware of melting your fabric!

[conniemurdoch]

The dress is gorgeous! My daughters have a hack for skirts that stick to their tights. They get a can of hairspray, then they lift up their skirt so it’s between the two layers that are clinging, and they spray a few short bursts not on the fabric or the tights but in the air between the two. For some reason it stops static cling. You need to do it front back and sides. Try one section first to see if it works. Great dress, and I have the idea that you might be trying a few more modern garments!

[BethAge]

Dress turned out lovely and I think even prettier than the inspiration! The cut and colour suit you so well! You look great in it :)

[tammyellison]

Maybe a 3/4 circle skirt would have worked, and how about wearing a good old-fashioned slip. I use them all the time.

[WantedVisual]

The shirring thing gives me flashbacks to the least favorite part of my atm favorite pants pattern (Puhmphose, by Manjipuh), which has a shirred... ish back panel.

It gives the option for machine shirring. Explains that beautifully. Then, it acknowledges that this looks best for certain fabric, but is a pain to figure out, so here is [elastic length calculation that works beautifully if you can find the exact right elastic] and two alternatives on how to do shirring without doing voodoo to your machine settings.

One is adding a second panel of fabric on the wrong side, so you can make channels with 5mm wide elastic running through them, which works great for heavier fabrics that generally are unimpressed by shirring elastic, and has the added bonus of having fabric on all sides, making it very comfy. The pattern recommends getting an elastic bodkin for this method, which I can confirm makes a world of difference.

The other is to keep your machine settings as you would for the fabric, set it to a zigzag stitch, and then just increase the stitch length so you can run shirring elastic through the loops on the wrong side, and affix your elastic to the edges with a straight stitch. Basically the channel method without adding fabric bulk; your stitches become channels, you just have the look of zigzag stitches on your fabric.

[an-enby-panda]

green team! Green is one of my favorite things (not only colors, things in general)💚💚💚

[juliathelittle]

Uneven hems are still in. It looks great.