The Gable dress has been on my to-make list for a while now; the only reason I hadn’t made it is that I very rarely buy jersey. However, now that I have made the Gable dress, I may well start buying it more often.
The dress is a quick sew and there’s nothing all that complicated about – basic sewing with jersey skills are all you need here. That’s the charm of Jennifer Lauren patterns – you end up with a gorgeous garment that has actually been easy and enjoyable to sew.
The fit is something I’ll have to work on, though. I made my size according to the measurement chart; but I should have started with a size smaller. The pictures here are after I lazily just brought the seams in everywhere I could without unpicking (because I used the triple stretch stitch which is not something I ever want to unpick). The waistline of the garment is supposed to be quite low but, to be honest , I just don’t like it so I’m going to have to take more care before cutting the pattern next time and get that adjustment right – it isn’t ideal as an afterthought and I’ve really taken quite a chunk out (losing the gathering finish a little as a result). I’m really fussy about where the curved side seam sits on my figure and the Gable needs a bit more thought for me to be content with it. I suspect the jersey skirt makes the bodice pull a little, too, so I’ll have to compensate for that in the future. Saying that, this is not a heavy jersey I was sewing with! It’s more light to medium weight. The sleeves also need quite a lot of adjusting, too – I kind of felt they were made for Stretch Armstrong! I took a good inch and a half off but I could easily have taken more. I’ll also need to take a little out of the neckline potentially (although, I suspect this problem will fix itself when I downsize)
There are quite a few options to make this dress your own – from the 3 sleeve lengths to the choice between a gathered or pleated skirt. My favourite thing about the dress, however, really is the neckline. I just think it’s so, so pretty and classy looking (especially bearing in mind this one is a little big and I’m still happy to wear it). JL offers excellent instructions (there’s also a video) on how to get the neckline to sit in a position more comfortable for the wearer but I liked it as it falls naturally so I didn’t make any adjustments.
This really is a dress that is as comfortable as it is classy, though, which is what has me truly loving it. I was trying to make something that was as suited to lounging at home with Simon and the pups as it is for working from home and sitting on all those tedious Zoom calls. It’s the classic secret pyjama pattern. Did I mention it has pockets? It really is the dress that keeps on giving. I think this one will be worth a wee bit more work to get the fit just right.
This pattern can easily be sewn up in an hour (it just took me so much longer as I had to keep manipulating and changing it to get it to fit just right). It’s a very wearable toile, though, and has already seen a couple of wears this week. With the dress expansion pack I have the gable top pattern, too, and can’t wait to make a few staples for the wardrobe.
