The Isla Wrap Dress

Isla, the perfect mix of 1950s house dress meets modern day wrap dress.

 

New Extended Size Range – A to F cups in sizes 6 to 34!
Up to hip 159.5cm or 62 3/4″

Check out the new Size Guide Info here.

 

 

The Details

Who hasn’t fantasised about making the dresses Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon) wears when we meet her in the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey? I sure have, and now you can make your very own, in an easy, breezy wrap dress form.

With grown-on sleeves and a wide, gently rounded neckline (buttoned at the top back neckline), Isla includes waistline darts for bodice shaping at the front and back. The gently gathered skirts includes in-seam pockets and falls to below the knee.

The back-wrap bodice is angled from the centre back neckline down to the waist – the waist tie is then used for closing the dress at the waistline, cinching it in as much as you please.

The back skirt overlaps almost side to side (it’s stepped back just a smidge so you can’t see the edge of the skirt when looking from the front), meaning you have plenty of coverage, even in windy weather.

While the button at the top back neckline can be made functional, the neckline is wide enough that you can easily slip Isla over your head, meaning you can sew it permanently closed if you wish.

Isla is the wrap dress if your dreams, mixing a 50s house-dress with the cool, comfortable and layer-able modern wrap dress.

 

 

Skill Level

Isla is suitable for confident seamstresses looking to up-skill.

If you have a few garments under your belt, Isla could be a great next step in your sewing journey. Build confidence with techniques such as gathering skirts, sewing in darts and stay-stitching.

If the button at the back makes you hesitant, you don’t need to make it functional. The neckline is wide enough to slip over the head, meaning you can sew it closed permanently with a few hand-stitches hidden with a faux button on top. You could even use a vintage brooch or go punk with safety pins.

 

Sizing

The Isla Wrap Dress includes both the Original and Curve size ranges. The Original includes sizes 6-24 with A to D cup bodices, and the Curve includes sizes 16 to 34 with C to F cup bodices.

 

Plus, Extra Finished Garment Measurements included…

If you’re worried about choosing a size, I’ve also included a whole bunch of additional Finished Garment Measurements, from the standard bust, waist and hips to armscye circumference and back width.

Simply compare these measurements to a similar garment you already like the fit of (or one you know you’d like to alter) and you’ll be surprised at how much of the hard stuff is already done.

You can read about the new sizing here.

 

Fabric Options

Isla is suitable for a wide range of light- to mid-weight woven fabrics with some drape.

Cotton lawn, voile and poplin to linen, tencel, light chambray or denim, as well as double gauze, sateen and seersucker are easy to sew with and wear.

Rayon, silks, crepes and other slinky fabrics also work well, but be mindful of the weight of the back neckline closure you use, as it can cause sagging in very light weight fabrics with no structure.

Tatenda’s pink spot Isla is a linen-cotton blend. Jen wears Isla in a slub-y linen-cotton blend.

 

Free Skirt Expansion Pack

You can now turn your Jade Wrap Dress into an easy, breezy wrap skirt with the free skirt expansion pack. Download your skirt pattern expansion and instructions here.

 

 

Meet the Models

Tatenda – Curve, pink spotted cotton-linen

Tatenda is wearing an 18D Curve Isla Wrap Dress. The waist is graded out to a 20 along with the hip.

The darts were lowered an additional 2cm to suit Tatenda’s lower full bust height and a small sway back adjustment was made, removing a 1cm wedge from the centre back out to nothing at the sides. The hemline was shortened by 6cm to account for Tatenda being shorter than the 170cm (5’7″) height Isla is designed for. These are all usual adjustments for Tatenda.

• High Bust: 104cm / 41″
• Full Bust: 112cm / 44 1/8″
• Waist: 97cm / 38 1/4″
• Hip: 122cm / 48″
• Height: 157cm / 5’2″

 

Jen – Original, blue slub-y linen-cotton

Jen wears a 10C Original Isla Wrap Dress, graded out to a size 12 waist.  No other adjustments were made to the pattern.

• High Bust: 84cm / 33 1/8″
• Full Bust: 89cm / 35″
• Waist: 73.5cm / 29″
• Hip: 99.5cm / 39 1/8″
• Height: 170cm / 5″ 7′