Aje inspired dress in light khaki linen blend by Polina

         When I received the gorgeous light khaki linen blend fabric from de Linum I was so happy to see how beautifully crisp and structured the fabric felt. It would be perfect for my Aje inspired structured puff sleeve mini dress.

This was the goal vs the outcome:

I am so stoked with how this dress turned out and the linen was absolutely perfect for the job!

 I started off with my trusty raglan sleeve pattern block which I slashed and spread (the front, back and sleeves) to achieve the volume. I probably could have done with a little less volume but that's the price I pay for not making a toile first…

 After gathering and assembling the bodice I somehow winged the neck facing which isn't perfect from the inside but it does the job!

 I turned the back opening in for the button plackets and then turned the hem up to make the elastic casings.

After adding in the elastic and finishing the sleeves I made my buttonholes and hand sewed on the vintage buttons I bought from Etsy. I tried a new technique with the buttonholes where I sewed over them twice as I find my buttonholes are usually a little flimsy/homemade looking.

After finishing the top I moved onto the skirt which was much easier to complete. Aje’s dresses usually have the skirt section in two parts which, after some investigation, I believe is because the first half is a half circle skirt and the second half is a rectangle. Fabric saving maybe? Or for shape? I copied this technique and I can’t really tell what difference it made, however I think it’s a bit more structured than a half circle skirt on its own. What do you think the reason for this is?

 So my skirt consists of 3 sections: the waistband, a half circle skirt and a rectangle who’s width matches the circumference of the bottom of the half circle skirt.

 After finishing the skirt I hand sewed a section of the skirt waistband to the top hem so that there is a little peek a boo moment in the back!

 And voila! 

 I love de Linum’s linen for this project, I’ve never come across a good quality linen blend that had shape and held structure such as this. I also rarely go for neutral colours like this but I’m glad I tried it because I think it suits me.

Note from de Linum: Light Khaki linen is a medium weight linen cotton blend with some structure however Aje dress can be made with lighter pure linen as well.