6.06.2016

The Sprout + Kielo Wrap, Squat, Bend and Leap Dress

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

This was the hardest working dress in New York City last Friday afternoon.

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

Not that Friday's activity was hard work, I mean, it was technically work, but I had a BLAST. Wore it to an audition which turned into a movement call. Which turned into a dance call. HEY GUESS WHAT. I WAS REALLY GLAD TO BE WEARING A HOT PINK SPORTS BRA.

AND A MATCHING THONG.

(That last bit might be facetious. My apologies to those who were sitting at hip level.) 

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

Yeah, so, this dress was seriously road tested! It got high marks from passersby, from waiting room compatriots, from peeps behind the table... and what was the thanks it got for being so dang pretty? Manhandling! Downright VANDALIZATION at the hands of yours truly! Hiked up and tied into all manner of knots, when I realized the movement call included attitude leaps and deep squats!

I used the extra long, skinnified ties to keep it at an (in)decent level, and hoped the poly CDC wouldn't bust under pressure.

Because y'all. I love to dance. Even under threat of popped seams.

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

But she stood up to the squats! All seams are intact. Of course, this baby is going to need a good washing after all that booty shaking...and of course, I added leather embellishments to the tie points, which will now need to get soaked. Whaddayagonnado.

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

That back split was very helpful! But I might open it up some more, now that I know this poly CDC is basically made of stretchable iron. MOAR DANCING.

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

Hey, you know what dress this is, right? The Kielo Wrap dress from Named patterns, buuuuut it's via Sprout Patterns, and offshoot of Spoonflower. Caroline, creative director (and a woman possessed of absolute charm and actual powers of ESP), contacted me awhile ago about trying out their new service: customized cut & sew. You choose the fabric and pattern, and the pattern is printed in your size directly onto the fabric. I'm going to go completely off the rails on this "sewing" blog and actually review the experience! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I spent a good long while playing with Sprout's project builder, where you choose from Spoonflower's vast collection of prints (I assume you can also upload your own, but I fell in love with Kociara's Jungle Lily print). You can play with the actual placement of the print in a little preview of the pattern layout, which is super cool. Under Caroline's advice, I chose Poly CDC for the stretch factor (THANK GOD). The fabric arrives with a white margin and a thin black line for cutting. The first thing you do is prewash the fabric. Of course, I wondered if the sizing would shrink, but nope, they factor that in, and it remained true.

I know this because I am omniscient. No. Not really. 

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

The only markings not printed on the fabric are the darts, because you don't want to be left with a permanent dart marked on your pretty dress. (Actually, on this technicolor insanity, it might not have been an issue, but if you're going all chic and beige like Named's sample, that would be no bueno.) You're instructed to print out only the pages needed for the darts (a PDF copy of the pattern & instructions is included in the Sprout kit), and lay them out over the fabric to mark the darts. Yes, I grumbled over printing those 4 pages. But it proved there was no shrinkage, which turned my grumble into a surprised happy dance! (And I'm making more of these anyway. Fo sho.)

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

I was on the fence about trying a pattern that I couldn't adjust first, because obviously, if you're getting the pattern printed right onto the fabric, fit adjustments are going to be minimal. But if you're not posessed of a straight-sized bod, the loose, easygoing Kielo is a perfect match for Sprout. Even with the cutting lines already printed, I was able to play around to account for my short waist. I took the back shoulder up about 5/8ths, and increased the seam allowance on the CB seam. Style wise, I cut the premarked ties in half horizontally, to keep them skinny & extra long, and lowered the neckline and armsyce for more breathability, as I tend to sweat a li'l bit in poly.

ESPECIALLY WHEN DOING DEEP SQUATS AND ATTITUDE LEAPS.

oonaballoona | kielo dress | a sewing blog by marcy harriell

I gotta tell ya, I'm thrilled with the outcome. It's no secret that I adore maxi dresses, but I really do hate finagling the space to cut them out in a small NY apartment. It was luscious to be able to cut right into the fabric with no shimmying around on the floor.

Was it karma that made me eventually shimmy around on the floor anyways? Mebbe. BUT I HAD FUN, KARMA. I MUST BE A VERY VERY GOOD GIRL.

this dancing dress was made possible through a collaboration with sprout patterns. 

26 comments:

  1. WOWWWWWW! As usual Beautiful! The fabric is phenomenal! All around this is awesome sauce for sure!
    Shari
    MyDailyThreadz

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  2. Yessss welcome to club Kielo! I really need to make a second one...

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    1. took me long enough, huh?! been thinking about yours since i saw you in it!

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  3. Gorgeous. I love your dress! I'm still a bit wary of the service, though. As a control freak, I don't know that I'd want to let go of that much control of the creative process, especially if you are having fit issues. Glad it worked out in this case, though!

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    1. Thank you! I understand your control freak trepidation, HA!

      But, I didn't have any fit issues with this project--what I mean is that with the Kielo dress, there's less to worry about fit-wise. I knew that since it was a loose wrap style, my usual short waist adjustment wouldn't stick out if I left it out ;). It was fine in the straight size, the control freak in me just took a couple of seams in anyways. For easy fit, I think the Asaka robe would be a goorrrrrgeous choice too!

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  4. I've wanted to make Kielo for a LONG time... now you're pressuring me.LOL You look fabulous!!

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    1. it took me forever to jump on the wagon, and i can highly recommend it! do it!

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  5. Beautiful - like a work of art.

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  6. I adore those leather touches. I may be obsessed. And it's not just because I happen to love the Canary Yellow that they are. I now have to figure out what I have stashed that I can do metalic leather touches on.

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    1. i think you can do metallic leather touches on pretty much EVERYTHING. pants, dresses, cats, stoves...

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    2. The cat might not appreciate it. Well on second thoought...

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  7. Your version of this is terrific (no surprise). And I love your review! I'm not the optimal pre-printed fabric gal, though I love the idea, because I always do more than minimal alterations. Like, that's half the activity for me (scarily, I just realized how true this is?!). Seriously, my version of the Kielo has been massively altered to suit my shape. I don't even know how that's possible. BTW, I've even considered asking Sprout to do this for me with my own, altered patterns (though I don't see how that could be feasible) but that's a lot of work to avoid laying things out.

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    1. NOTHING IS TRUE-ER! i have been amazed, for years, at the amount of pattern altering you do ;). i laughed out loud when i read your kielo alterations!!! have you checked out bootstrap patterns? you enter tons of measurements to get a custom fit pattern. i wonder if they could team up and rule the world...

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  8. Cutting out fabric with the pattern marked out to me is such a revelation! I was able digitally print out fabric with a pattern printed on it at work, and the ease of it all was so amazing- instant gratification! Love Love this print, and the dress looks amazeballs on you! Going to have to give that CDC a try- the drape looks great!

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    1. um, i would be using my employee perks like WHOAH.

      the drape is wonderful on this, but the dye does factor in, darker colors give a rougher hand. the silk CDC is even nicer! (but obviously the poly stretch factor helped me out here ;)

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  9. Marcy, we LOVE you in this dress and know that it was your good luck charm for the audition! Girl, you are GORGEOUS and AWESOME as usual!

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  10. Love, Love, Love and great to be able to test it immediately ;-) hehehehe. I'm sure it also passed the cocktail test?

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  11. amazing dress! and that print is crazy cool too, i need something similar in my wardrobe.. and i should try testing my brand new dresses your way (although hike in the wilderness does the trick too, but then the dress gets all sorts of funky looking smears and plants glued to it)

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  12. Gorgeous! I love that fabric. I would love to have seen your audition.

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i thankya truly for taking the time to comment, i love a good conversation-- and hope you know my thanks are always implied, if not always written!