Friday Pattern Co. Hack: 'Saguaro' and 'Davenport' in 'Unforgettable'

I’ve had a length of the sensational black and red ‘Unforgettable’ linen, prewashed and ready to go for many weeks. But, what to make?🤔 I wanted a maxi, kimono style sleeves, and at least one tier.
My ‘Unforgettable’ dress is a hack of the Friday Pattern Co. 'Saguaro' Top and the 'Davenport' Skirt. I have recently finished the ‘Davenport dress’ (see my previous blog), loved it, and knew the skirt portion would work. The Saguaro is a cropped top, and while I dismissed the pattern when I first saw it, I kept returning to it.

The Friday Pattern Co. Saguaro Bodice

The ‘Saguaro’ was just what I was after, although too short🤣. It was a simple design, that has a small overlapping wrap at the front, and it’s anchored by an elastic waistband.

Tweaks to the Bodice

- I added some length to the pattern as I was tracing it out, but as I held the pattern pieces up to my body I knew I needed to add more. In all I think I added about 7cm.

- I added a little bit more length to the sleeves so they hit me just below the elbow.

- I followed the pattern’s suggestion of making bias binding, and I feel the linen bias made for a more stable neckline. I really don’t know why I don’t make more of my own bias😍.

- The overlap at the front is more pronounced than the pattern as I didn't want the neckline to be too revealing. This means it is more fitted than the pattern intends, but I can still easily get it over my head. In the end I sewed the overlap down along the pre-existing stitch line.

The Waistband

The waistband has to be a bit wider than the pattern suggests as you need to be able to sew it to the bodice and the skirt. My approach was to measure the bottom of the bodice (with the overlap), and cut a waistband the same length (with seam allowances). I didn’t want 5cm wide elastic, but decided on 3.5cm instead. I sewed a tunnel for the elastic, threaded it through, and sewed one side onto the bodice, and the other side to the skirt. Easy 💃👌

The Skirt

I love the ‘Davenport’ skirt. but for this mash-up I excluded the pockets (by placing the pocket piece on top of the skirt piece as I was cutting out). To conserve fabric I cut the back piece with a centre seam. I doubled the frill/tier of the Davenport pattern to get the maxi length for my version. After I'd attached my bottom tier to the skirt, I gathered the skirt so it met the width of the waistband and stitched it on.

If you are a serial maker of Vogue 9253 (as I am), then you will love the Saguaro bodice. The Davenport skirt offers the perfect amount of drama for this print, and enough fullness to balance the bodice.