Summer is truly the season to wear flowing dresses. La Petite Frambise and Dressing de Cindy offer us the Athéna model in collaboration. Athéna is a beautiful summer dress accessible to beginners. It is offered in three versions: top, short dress, and long dress.

The Athéna model was inspired by holidays in the Greek islands. The design features a pretty drape at the front and a V-neckline at the back. The whole is tied at the shoulders and the waist is highlighted thanks to the elastic. And cherry on top, the pattern is free until 07/31/21 on La Petite Frambise's website as part of a contest. Let's hurry to download it!

As part of the contest, I also made my version of the Athéna dress. The two key points of my version are:

• Fabric choice. I chose to work with popeline, which has a bit more body than the fabrics usually recommended for this kind of dress. 
• Pattern modifications. The first modification I made concerns adjustments related to my small stature (1.53m) but also style changes. I wanted to highlight the bust by raising the bodice-skirt junction so that the elastic sits under the bust. This forced me to modify the skirt according to this first change. I reshaped the skirt to be closer to the body and made two small clips at the back for shaping (to avoid the wrinkled effect on the lower back caused by my swayback). 

All the materials to make my version are available in the shop. I used the popeline "Spring Bouquets" on a navy blue background (which also comes on a pink background), Gütermann navy blue thread 310, fusible interfacing, and thin elastic.

You will also find in the shop beautiful viscose fabrics or other popelines perfectly suitable for making Athéna.

In the seamstress's basket

To sew Athéna, you will need:

• 1 coupon of fabric from 150 cm for the top version to 360 cm for the long dress sewn in the largest size with a directional pattern. You can choose several types of materials, however Athéna is designed for a lightweight and fluid fabric like viscose, tencel, mousseline... I sewed my version in poplin and it also works with some pattern adjustments. 

• 50 cm of fusible interfacing, 145 cm wide, for the facing for the unlined dress/top version or lining of the same length as the main fabric (if you line the whole dress, less if you choose to line only the bust)

• 1 meter of elastic 0.8 cm wide.
  

Sewing level to sew Athéna 

Athéna is rated level 1 out of 5 by La Petite Frambise, meaning the pattern is accessible to beginners. However, the difficulty in making this dress will lie in your fabric choice. If you are very new, choose a fabric that is not too slippery (avoid satins for example...) or more complex to sew like mousseline. 

The technical points are:

• Making the straps
• Interfacing the facings
• assembling the straps and facings to the bust pieces
  
• assembling the bust pieces to the skirt
• attaching the elastic
• the hem

Little tip for turning straps, I used the Prym strap-turning tool which you can find in the shop. It greatly simplifies turning thin and narrow pieces like typically straps and belts... it's a tool I can't do without because it's so practical. 

Explanation of the modifications in my version

To sew my version, I first made a toile. A toile is a first assembly of the garment in a pattern toile (an uncolored cotton toile used for testing). I chose a toile with some body because I wanted to estimate the look of the model with a fabric that has more structure. 

Once the toile was made, I made bust adjustments so the elastic would sit under the bust. To do this, I corrected the toile by moving an elastic (not sewn) under the bust and marking with a pencil on my toile the most aesthetic placement for it. This became my cutting line.

Then, I modified the skirt so that the bottom of my dress would sit under the new cut.

Finally, I took in the skirt by creating two back clips and reducing the fullness. And tada, the new model was created!

These changes gave me lots of ideas to make more, and I admit the top version really tempts me. Why not try it in broderie anglaise or pointelle?

And you, what will your version of the Athéna dress be?

And if you want to enter the contest, don't forget to post your photos on Instagram!