Hello everyone!
I’m so excited to be back on the Lamazi Fabrics blog today. Last month I had the pleasure to work with Liana and James on one of my projects, creating a series of hacks for my newly released pattern, the Sheona dress and top. The Sheona is a very simple, but very versatile pattern with 5 different options to create a basic shift dress or T-shirt with many variations, including ruffled hems and different sleeve lengths. However, this basic design has a lot more possibilities and is what I like to call a very “hackable” pattern. You can use it as a block to create dozens of different garments and this is what I wanted to showcase on this project.
So, for the entire September I prepared a series of tutorials to show you how can you modify the Sheona and create different styles. I chose a variety of fabrics from Lamazi and I’m going to talk about them in this post.
The first fabric I chose was this iconic seagulls jersey. I had been seeing it everywhere and I was dying to make a top with it, so that’s what I did. But I didn’t want an ordinary top, so I modified the Sheona and turned it into a tie front top. You can find the tutorial here.
For my next hack, I wanted to play around with the dress version. The basic shape of the Sheona dress is a great base to work on, so I chopped it off at the waist and added a gathered skirt. For this version I used this stunning cotton jersey with a navy background and beautiful flowers. You can find the tutorial here.
My next two hacks were all about sleeves. I LOVE a unique sleeve and I couldn’t wait to alter the plain sleeves on the Sheona top. For my first version I turned them into flutter sleeves, using this gorgeous Lady McElroy viscose jersey. It is so lightweight and drapey that was the perfect match for that project, as the sleeves need some movement to look their best. This hack has been my favorite, without any doubt, and many of you agreed as it has been super popular on social media. You can find the tutorial here.
In the second sleeve hack I showed you how to draft bishop sleeves. Now I know I said the flutter sleeves were my favorite, but this one is a close second. I adore the dramatic effect of this full sleeve and it looks so elegant with a simple pair of black trousers. Like the previous hack, I opted for a viscose jersey for this top as well -for the same reasons- and I used the Lady McElroy Foliage Canopy Viscose jersey. You can find the tutorial here.
For my next hack in the series, I wanted to create a warm and cozy “sweater type” top. Using this super cute French terry, which was so soft and amazing to work with, I lengthened the sleeves, added cuffs and elbow patches. You can find the tutorial here.
And then it was time to make a Sheona dress. This time I wanted to add a little something to it, so I opted to draft sleeve ties. I think they are such a cute detail and give a simple shift dress a whole other vibe. I also made a contrasting neckband to add interest and highlight the colors of the fabric’s beautiful print. For this hack I used another cotton jersey from Lamazi’s amazing selection. You can find the tutorial here.
My last hack in the series was all about the neckline. So many of my readers were asking for a V-shaped neckline for the Sheona and I was more than happy to prepare a tutorial for it. I find that having a lower neckline is very flattering, especially for women with larger busts and this modification is so easy to do, that you won’t regret trying it. The tutorial is available here.
And these were all my hacks with fabrics from Lamazi. I hope you liked them and that they inspired you to see your basic patterns in a different way. Needless to say that you can use the tutorials for any other jersey top or dress pattern you may have and not just for the Sheona. If you give them a go, make sure you tag me on social media @athinakakou, I would love to see them!
Happy sewing,
Athina