There are times when I am unconsciously optimistic 😂 I had planned to sew the new Cha Coud model: Anaïs as a party dress for the opening of our new Woluwe shop.
Of course I didn't have time! But just because I didn't have time doesn't mean I'll give up, so I sewed my dream Anaïs this week!
I have to say that the Japanese velvets that arrived in the shop caught my eye so much that it was impossible to abandon the project, and there will still be plenty of celebrations!
Besides... I plan to wear Anaïs every day... because every day is a celebration, right?
The model
When I saw Anaïs, I fell for its lovely volumes! I must say that Anaïs combines many stylistic points that I love for dresses and that highlight the feminine silhouette!
Anaïs is a fitted dress model at the bust, with a voluminous skirt and sleeves. This dress has long, puffed sleeves gathered with elastic at the wrists.
The sleeve head is gathered for even more fullness.
Anaïs closes at the center back with an invisible zipper.
Information for sewing this model
Anaïs is a dress model from the brand Cha Coud. It is available in printed and PDF format in our shop and webshop.
The Anaïs dress ranges from size 34 to 52.
The bust and waist measurements will be decisive for choosing your size.
Anaïs is really within reach of beginner sewers who would like to start with a first dress.
In the seamstress's basket
To sew Anaïs you have many fabric options such as linen, a light gabardine, a viscose crepe, an eyelet fabric, a velvet… it all depends on the desired look. The stiffer the fabric, the more volume you will get in the skirt and sleeves; conversely, with a more fluid fabric, the skirt and sleeves will be more "flowing".
To sew Anaïs, you will need:
- 2.40m of fabric by 1.40m width (2.70m for sizes 42 and up)
- 1cm wide elastic for the wrists
- 60cm of bias tape (you can use commercial bias tape or make it yourself from your main fabric)
- a invisible zipper of 50cm or 60cm
My supplies
I wanted to sew Anaïs with a bit of volume but not too much... so I opted for a Japanese corduroy that just arrived in the shop and has incredible patterns!
Since the width is 110cm, I reduced the fullness of the skirt to fit my pieces within the width.
It worked perfectly with 3m of fabric.
I chose a dark thread and a chocolate zipper to match the fabric. As for the neckline bias, I had fun choosing a caramel color reminiscent of the flowers.
For the sleeves, I chose to make a wider hem allowing me to insert a 2cm wide elastic for good sleeve support on the wrist.
Technical points
Anaïs is really a simple and effective dress; easy to sew!
I sewed it quietly in a little afternoon...
Anaïs is made up of 4 pieces: a front (1 piece on fold), a back (2), a front skirt (1 piece on fold), and a back skirt (2).
The technical points for sewing Anaïs are:
- sewing the bust darts
- assembling the bodice and attaching the neckline bias
- assembling the skirt and making gathers
- making the set-in sleeves with gathers
- creating the wrist casing and attaching the elastic
- installing the invisible zipper
- the skirt hem.
Really nothing insurmountable and a nice range of challenges for a motivated beginner who wants to discover all these techniques.
Cutting the pieces
Lengthening the skirt
Attaching the neckline bias
My sewing experience
I made a toile of the bodice in calico to confirm the size to make. After this fitting, I chose to sew Anaïs in size 34.
I chose to add 10cm to the skirt so that my dress would be wearable every day because I found it a bit short on Charlotte. No problem for parties, but for daily wear, I wouldn’t have felt comfortable bending over or raising my arms to grab fabric rolls...
Timing-wise, I printed my pattern in A4 and spent less than an hour taping the pieces edge to edge in the morning.
In the afternoon, I started sewing around 3 p.m. and finished around 6:30 p.m.
It must be said that Anaïs doesn’t have many pieces (so it goes quite fast) but Charlotte’s instructions are clear and effective; something I really appreciate in a pattern.
The only real challenges if you’re a beginner will be installing the (really) invisible zipper and attaching the neckline bias.
For the rest, everything flows very well and easily; a real pleasure to sew!
I really want to make another version in Japanese fabrics but also in a plain corduroy.
I love my soft dress with this incredible print!
So, feeling like sewing a pretty dress?
Discover the entire collection of Cha coud patterns here and all our velvets here.
All that's left is... to your needles!
