That’s it! Summer has finally arrived in Belgium and it’s hot hot hot... so I started craving light dresses! After wearing and re-wearing my centaurée dresses from Deer and Doe patterns, a design I love, I thought it was time to try new patterns. I have plenty, so I needed to make the most of my purchases 😂. While browsing the pattern library, I came across the Leanne dress from the latest Fibremood and thought it would be amazing to wear in double gauze! 

Double gauze is really super pleasant in summer. It’s comfortable, breathable, light... in short, I had found my project! So I’m taking you with me to discover the Leanne dress as well as double gauze, this great fabric to wear in hot weather. Let’s go!

The Leanne dress design

This thin-strapped dress is perfect for heatwave days and sultry evenings. You can choose the length that suits you: above the knee for a casual look or ankle-length for a glamorous effect. The summer top version to wear with jeans is also a great alternative! Leanne loves the touch of a summer breeze and will look beautiful in a lightweight fabric. With a slightly stiffer material, you’ll get more volume, giving your dress a unique touch. Bust darts, an invisible zipper in the back seam, and handy pockets in the side seam (which you can of course omit) complete this dress. And the straps? You can buy them or make them yourself. 

Practical information for sewing Leanne

Leanne is a design available in Fibremood No. 23 (currently on newsstands) or as a PDF on the Fibremood website. As usual, Fibremood offers us a very wide size range: from XS to XXXL, enough to find your perfect fit! To sew Leanne, refer only to the bust measurement, as it’s really the key to determining your size since the "skirt" is very flared and gathered, giving plenty of room for the waist and hips! 

In the seamstress’s basket

Fibremood recommends a fluid and supple fabric to give Leanne a nice drape or a stiffer fabric or a textured material like jacquard, poplin, seersucker cotton, or dobby for a more voluminous effect.

My supplies

I wanted a light and fluid dress, very summery. The idea was to feel the air "passing through"; to have a sense of lightness. So I opted for a double gauze, especially since it was the perfect opportunity to try our new joly coupons including the terracotta double gauze with golden foil that made me fall in love as soon as it arrived! 

So I prewashed the double gauze in a laundry bag to preserve the pretty golden foil that didn’t move before cutting my pieces. 

I chose a tawny brown Gütermann thread.

I chose to make the straps from the fabric. 

A few words about double gauze and why I chose it

Double gauze is one of my favorite fabrics when the warm days return... it’s true that double gauze is associated with babies, a crinkled airy fabric sometimes shapeless... not at all! Today, double gauze has evolved and becomes a staple in women’s wardrobes! We use it for blouses, dresses, light camisoles but also for nightgowns and comfortable pajamas in hot weather.  Moreover, double gauze is not very difficult to work with. Once you have the right techniques, it’s even a pleasure to use for your sewing projects! 

Due to its weave and composition, double gauze has many advantages. Indeed, it is: 

• - light  
• - airy  
• - breathable  
• - absorbent  
• - comfortable on the skin  
• - soft 
• - fluid 
• - reversible 
• - easy to care for 
• it does not need ironing and dries very quickly. 

Technical stitches for sewing Leanne

Leanne is really easy to sew. It is rated level 2 out of 5. 

The technical stitches are:

• - sew clips
• - attach a facing
• - make straps (turn inside out)
• - sewing pockets
• - installing a zipper
• - making a hem

My sewing experience

I carefully referred to the size chart, so for this pattern to my bust measurement. I fell into size S. Usually, for fibremood, I make XS but since the pattern is supposed to be very fitted at the bust, I made the dress in size S. That was a mistake...

If Leanne is easy to make, I still had to make changes/modifications to the pattern; I’ll explain. 

The two biggest changes concern the back closure and the pockets; I simply removed these two elements. Why, you ask...

1. The pockets in my double gauze fabric made an ugly bump on the sides of the very loose dress. I had no choice but to remove them because the weight of the bumps really created volume and "pulled" my fabric. So I will have a dress without pockets, which isn’t a big deal in itself. 

2. I made size S and when testing after assembling the front to the back, I had 10cm to take in around the bust. I chose to make a French seam at the back and not to put in the zipper because I knew (despite the 10cm reduction) I could still take it off from the top. 

3. I didn’t add any hem allowance at the bottom and I’m glad I didn’t because it was already very long for my small size. I chose to make a simple fold to avoid weighing down the bottom of the dress. 

4. I modified the straps to create tied straps, which allows me to adjust the bodice height of the dress. If I want to place the seam on the chest, or below... I can play with the heights. I really enjoyed having a versatile dress. The knots on the shoulders fit perfectly with the very summery style of this dress. 

Here is my pretty Leanne dress finished. I feel like I simplified the pattern as much as possible. I would love to make another one in striped cotton poplin and this time in size XS. 

And you, does this pattern tempt you? Or maybe you prefer to try this pretty double gauze? Feel free to take a look and check out our joly coupons.

To your needles!