Pattern Review : A Nautical Lace-up True Bias Lodo Dress

I'm back with yet another striped number. I hope you're not tired of seeing stripes on this blog!

This time, I went for a more colorful stripe fabric with nautical vibes. I took advantage of a 20% birthday discount at Style Maker Fabrics back in March and treated myself with this gorgeous Nautical Stripe Rib Texture Navy Ponte Knit (it's sadly sold out now).

 It's a mix of white, navy, red and pink heavyweight ponte with rib texture. I bought 2 yards of it without really knowing what I was going to make. Fast forward to the month of May with the rise of temperatures here in Nor Cal and finding myself reaching over and over again for my Inari dress (which I still need to write a blog post about) and the Simplicity 1366 ruffle sleeves dress!

Named Clothing Inari Dress (mmm17 pic)

Simplicity 1366 dress

I wanted to wear more shift and cocoon style dresses but rather than sewing another Inari and after seeing all the cute Lodo dresses popping up on Instagram, I opted for the latter. The fabric choice was inspired by a new French designer I discovered via a French Instagrammer. She had posted a top from a French magazine made in the exact same stripe fabric. How cool is that?

The designer Frnch Officiel Spring/Summer collection has some amazing stripe tops, sweaters and dresses. I was immediately drawn to the lace-up ones since I've been on a grommets quick recently.

While taping the Lodo dress from True Bias last week, it suddenly hit me that I could make it a lace-up by adding grommets to the V-neckline.

The pattern is quick to tape and cut. I added 2 inches to the length since it's drafted for a 5'5" woman and I'm 5'7". I cut a size 10 and graded to a 12 at the hip. It fits perfectly without any additional alterations.

The cocoon shape is really flattering and sure enough after cutting the fabric and basting it to check the fit, I was sold. 

 The stripes on the fabric were uneven so I almost thought I ruined it since it wasn't aligning properly with the pattern's grainline. I was relieved after basting it because it miraculously evened out with minimal stretching and stripe matching!

 Another interesting feature on the Lodo dress is that the facings are cut out of a woven fabric. I thought it was a clever idea and adds stability to the neckline and armholes and prevents the knit from stretching out. Because I was adding grommets, I interfaced the bottom part of the front neck facing for more stability.

After consulting my fellow sewists at a recent  Bay Area Sewists meetup, I went with gold grommets and a black cotton lace cord. In retrospect, a longer one would have been better. I'm planning on changing it to a longer length and add beads to the ends.

 Before sewing the side seams, I added the grommets. I wasn't sure how low the v-neck was and how many grommets to add on each side so I started with 2 and after trying it on a couple of times added 2 more. The construction is very easy as well. You really don't need a serger to complete this dress.

 I wore the dress twice already since completing it. I need to make another like yesterday!

Or maybe 2 or 3 

more!