Tablecloth Refashion Metamorphic Dress

Only long-time followers of the blog will remember my experiments last year with dyeing tablecloths. I absolutely loved the finished results but since then they have sat in my stash waiting for the perfect project!

Well a few weeks ago, I finally had the idea for the perfect project! The Sew Liberated Metamorphic Dress! This pattern has been on my radar for ages but the fabric requirements were holding me back. Because this pattern is made up of two layers, making the dress reversible, it takes up quite a lot of fabric. I struggled to justify buying 4-5m of fabric for one dress. This is when I realised it was the perfect project for one of my tablecloths!

The bottom layer of the dress is seen from both sides so it needs to be reversible, something printed on one side wouldn’t work. So I knew my tablecloth would be perfect for this layer, especially if I could position the embroidery at the hem of the front skirt piece. As part of my ongoing position in the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network, I was sent some beautiful Art Gallery Winterberry Pine Rayon for the top layer of the dress. This fabric is so beautiful, the rayon is so fluid and the print is so pretty. I’ve been dipping my toes into floral prints lately but I just love any prints that are more foliage based like this one! As it’s nice and wide I only needed 2m for the top layer and I even had enough scraps left to line a skirt!

I cut out the pieces carefully so that the embroidery would be along the bottom of the skirt of the under layer and went about making the dress as instructed. The only change I made was to swap the pockets around. The instructions tell you to put patch pockets on the top layer and in-seam pockets in the under layer. Because the rayon is so fine and drapey, I didn’t want to put patch pockets on that layer and distract from the beautiful print, so I decided to put the in-seam pockets on this layer. As a result, I decided to put the patch pockets on my tablecloth layer as this has less drape and seemed to suit the patch pockets more. That’s right, this dress has FOUR pockets!

I also really enjoyed making this, because it is fully reversible there is no binding to do or facings to deal with and because it just pops over the head there are no buttons or zips. It felt like an easy project I could really sink my teeth into and just enjoy the sewing. If I ever lose my sew-jo I will have to bear this pattern in mind as it is a really great reminder of the joy of sewing without any fiddly parts stopping the flow or getting in the way!

And before you ask, yes we did take the photos of both sides of this dress at the same time. So yes, it does mean I took my dress off and flipped it inside out and put it back on again stood next to the canal (disclaimer: I was wearing a t-shirt and leggings underneath!). Luckily there was no one around for miles but honestly, the things we sewing bloggers do to get the picture!!!

If you want more info, including loads more pictures, click here to read the full post on the Minerva Crafts Blogger Network.