In April, Eugénie began collaborating with Charlotte, the creator of the Cha Coud brand. I was not familiar with the patterns of this brand and I really appreciated the feminine aesthetic of the offered designs, a touch retro, while clearly very comfortable. Everything I look for! And among all the offered designs, the Alix dress was a real favorite!   

I will explain everything.

Model

Alix is a beautiful long dress fitted at the bodice, with a lovely fullness in the skirt. It is a very clever design because it looks like a wrap dress with a surplice neckline, while also featuring a slit (very high open) closed by a buttoned tab on the side of the skirt; which is not possible in classic wrap dresses. 

The designer’s trick also lightens the skirt by removing the double layer. The top of the shoulders is covered by a small godet ruffle, which elegantly finishes the beautiful silhouette of the whole. It may not be obvious in the photos, but the bodice, waistband, and shoulder ruffles are lined, giving the garment a fine finish both outside and inside.

Practical information for sewing the model

Alix is offered from size 34 to 52 in printed or pdf format on our website or directly in store.

Seam allowances are included and drawn in the pattern. This is uncommon and a bit disconcerting at first but proves very practical if you need to grade precisely between several sizes.  And last but not least: in pdf, the pages join edge to edge, no need to cut the print margins. Thank you Charlotte!   

The indicated difficulty is “intermediate.” I mostly agree with this as this dress involves some techniques to know. I detail them below, but that said, a motivated beginner can manage it, taking their time and doing tests. I always tell my workshop participants: “tests are life!”

The pattern does not offer variations, but as the creator indicates, it can be made in many different fabrics, such as a cotton voile, a poplin, an eyelet embroidery or also in viscose or lyocell/tencel. Cotton satins will also go wonderfully with this model. Depending on the chosen fabrics, you will have truly different results. As I write these lines, I already imagine other models to make, notably in a lyocell denim from the shop that tempts me a lot!

In the seamstress’s basket

To make Alix, you will need:

- 2.5m of fabric with a width of 1.40m and 3m for sizes from 42 upwards.
- 50 cm of lining with a width of 1.40m for the bodice.
- 4 buttons of 25mm diameter
- 1 shirt button to hold the bodice underneath
- Matching thread to the fabric

Possibly to make your life easier with the tools, a buttonhole ruler for perfect spacing. 

We also used straight grain support to support the neckline. 

My version

Studying the size chart and the pattern pieces, I chose a 36 for the bodice and graded up to 38 from the waist down. The fit is perfect! Looking closely at the photos, you will see I have two darts in the back, although they are not planned in the pattern. This is due to a small mistake I made while cutting the pattern pieces. I realized it once my fabric piece was cut and without anyone noticing, I adjusted by adding these darts. I find the silhouette gains finesse on me!

My supplies

While stocking the "joly coupons" of 3m in the shop, I completely fell for a pattern existing in cotton lawn and in poplin. For more suppleness, I chose the very light cotton lawn and I love it. It has a salmon pink background and retro flowers, charmingly pretty! And since the dress requires 2.5m, I cut the bodice lining pieces from the remaining 50 cm, which gives a nice finish inside the garment. For my seams, I used Güttermann no. 659, a beautiful pale pink, to match the fabric tones while being slightly different. To ensure good durability over time, I interfaced the bias cuts of the bodice with straight grain fusible tape. 

The button tab and waistband gained firmness and reinforcement with H180 interfacing.
The buttons come from my grandmother’s stock, adding a little bright touch to the garment.
I used 6 instead of the 4 indicated because I wanted to be able to close the slit a bit lower if needed. 

Technical points

For the detail of technical points, we find:
- the sheath assembly,
- the buttonholes,
- cap sleeves with an uncommon shape,
and – just in case – the adjustments to make for a crossover that fits well on the neckline. For my part, I also enjoyed making beautiful topstitching to nicely highlight the edges of the pieces.

My sewing experience

I really enjoyed making this model. The sheath assembly is always a nice technique to do and the pieces are really well thought out. They are also very accurate, everything fits well for a result that has a lot of style. I am soon going on holiday to Catalonia, one thing is certain, I will wear it often to be covered with a garment light as a feather!    

So, who else is tempted!? 

Get your needles ready!