Hi everyone! Welcome to the first stop on the Sis Boom Patterns Angie Hack-A-Thon Tour! I am so excited to show you my version of the Angie, it’s definitely my new favourite dress.
You might remember in my recent post from the Just For Me January Tour that I am an Angie fan and that I planned to make one in knit fabric!
With most things in life, I like to do a bit of research and then just give it a go. Usually that works out fine… In this case I think I pretty much nailed it!
Let’s take a look at a picture from the original pattern to get a feel for the bones of the dress.
Here’s where the “Hack” comes into it. I decided to make a knit version instead of woven for my hack, partly because I love the drape and most definitely for the comfort and fit. I also decided to reverse the height of the necklines and make the front a high neckline and the back low. I used a quarter circle skirt instead of a gathered one and I added cap sleeves!
I cut out all my pieces for the bodice and basted them together with my sleeves to make sure they worked and I was shocked, {cough!} I mean not suprised at all that they did! I unpicked the bodice and remade it with my serger/overlocker (because unpicking overlocking stitching is not fun, so we like to avoid that).
I made the same size I made last time as the knit was fairly stable and not super stretchy. I used the full width of the front darts, but not the back as that made the front & back width match, which made matching the skirt easier.
Here’s how I reversed the necklines. Cutting out my front piece above, will you just look at those fancy schmancy pattern weights! I laid the back piece on top, matching the shoulders, just to use the neckline. I folded the rest of the pattern out of the way. I did the same process for the back bodice piece, but next time I may make it even more of a dramatic plunge!
I bound the neckline by using a strip of the knit about 2cm wide or 3/4″ and applied it like bias tape. I sewed it on the outside of the neckline right sides together, flipped it up and over to the inside of the garment so that could not be seen and sewed it down. I stretched the binding like you do when you are doing neck bands etc on knit, but I think next time I might not stretch it much at all.
For the sleeve I used a cap sleeve pattern I had from a t-shirt dress I had made recently. I hemmed them before attaching. The head of the sleeve ended up a little big but with a little pleat at the top, it fit perfectly.
To match my sleeves and side seams nicely, I always tack them together first using the sewing machine and check they line up perfectly before I overlock all the way from the sleeve hem to the bottom of the bodice (see below).
I cut out a quarter circle skirt from a woven dress pattern I had made before and sewed up the side seams. Then I just trimmed a few cm from the top of the skirt until the circumference of the skirt matched the circumference of the bodice. I added the elastic to the back waist per the pattern which gives it these sweet gathers and a slimmer silhouette overall. I didn’t hem the dress as the knit does not fray. If you cut it nice and straight it’s absolutely not necessary (yay)!!
This was quite a fast project! The next time around will be even faster now that I have tested it all. I’d love if you’d leave me a comment and let me know what you think or what you would do to “Hack” your Angie!
Play along all week with my sewing friends and be prepared to be inspired by their incredible ideas! You wont believe how different each dress looks all made from the one base pattern. Keep up to date by following the Sis Boom Patterns Blog!
Warmest wishes,
Brooke x
March 21, 2017 at 2:40 am
I absolutely love it! Thanks for explaining in such detail how you made it.
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March 26, 2017 at 11:10 pm
Thanks so much Mrs Podge! I am always happy to share my processes, ask any time if there’s something you’d like to know 🙂
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March 21, 2017 at 8:57 am
Wow!! I’ve been wanting to make one in Knit to as this is one of my fave patterns!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:20 pm
Awesome! Make sure you let me know if you have a go!
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March 21, 2017 at 10:52 am
Brooke, that looks lovely. I’ve wanted to make seem more Angie dresses and this hack is wonderful; especially as I like my shoulders covered! Well done you!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:24 pm
Thanks so much! I love having my shoulders covered too for sun safety. With the cap sleeves it’s not to hot to wear here also! Thank you 🙂
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March 21, 2017 at 11:29 am
I love this soooo much!!!!!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:10 pm
Thank you Jeanine! xx
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March 21, 2017 at 3:15 pm
I love this! Your hacks make this something I’d love to wear!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:22 pm
Thanks Emily! That’s the best kind of comment to hear!! x
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March 21, 2017 at 5:09 pm
You look amazing, Brooke! Love what you did with the pattern, especially the lowered back. Very clever!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:25 pm
Thank you Alison! I’m going to take it lower next time!! 😉
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March 23, 2017 at 8:22 pm
It is a very successful hack in my books 🙂 A job well done indeed 🙂 I too baste knit garments on my mahcine first to check for fit or match up seams… coz no one likes unpicking overlocked stitches!
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March 26, 2017 at 11:27 pm
Thanks so much Jenya! I’m so happy with it! You are a smart lady ;-), there’s lots of short cuts I take, but basting isn’t one of them (y) xx
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March 27, 2017 at 11:06 am
Love this knit hack! And your reverse neckline idea is brilliant!!
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March 29, 2017 at 7:38 am
Thank you Becca! I am so stoked with this dress! I will make so many more xx
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