I’m not sure when cocoon dresses appeared on my radar, but as I reached the later stages of my pregnancy, I found myself Googling for images and sewing ideas. I came across this free sewing pattern by Studio Faro and finally had the chance to sew it when I started my maternity leave.
Image credits: 01. Aritzia | 02. Her New Tribe | 03. Jill Sander via Farfetch | 04. Unconditional via Farfetch
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you would have seen I recently gave birth to my baby girl, Umi. What an adventure parenthood has been! Dave and I have had a lot of fun looking after this little life we’ve brought into the world. Umi is 4 weeks old now, and finally starting to look a bit like her Papa. She looked totally Asian up until recently, so Dave was feeling a bit left out I think, haha. Oh and in case you are wondering, Umi means “ocean” in Japanese.
The Sewing Pattern
I’ve called this a cocoon dress sewing pattern, but Studio Faro terms it a Triangle Drape Dress. Either way, all you need is a basic dress sloper. The instructions and pattern details can be found at Studio Faro. It’s a pretty straight forward pattern, but I think it’s so clever how you can turn a simple sloper into a draped dress!
I don’t have a dress sloper, so I just used my Reversible Shift Dress sewing pattern. I think it worked out ok, except for the neckline.
The v-neck ended up being too low, so I got creative and made a twist detail on the centre neckline. I just twisted the fabric, pinned it, and hand stitched it in place. Don’t you think it looks like something out of a Drape Drape sewing book?
The Fabric
I used a bamboo knit to make this dress. It’s from High End Fabric on eBay. The fabric is beautiful, but I think for the purpose of this dress, it may have a bit too much drape. Maybe a lighter knit with polyester or something would be better. As much as I love bamboo knit, it results in the dress constantly falling off my shoulders. But I’m still happy with the way this dress turned out – I think it’s worth another try with a more stiff fabric.
Studio Faro has lots of free sewing patterns, so definitely go check out their website!
12 comments
Nice job on this dress and congratulations on the new baby! Umi is a lovely name.
Thanks Chuleenan <3
Hi Rin. Thanks so much for trying out my pattern making instructions. I love your Triangle Drape Dress. Make sure you are connected to my new blog location on the website – http://www.studiofaro.com/well-suited Loads more designs and pattern making instructions.
Hi Anita. So glad you like my version of your awesome pattern puzzle. I hope lots of other people give it a go, as it’s so easy and fun to do =)
Hi Rin. Yes at least two others have tried this design. Their links are included in the footer of the blog post, along with yours. 🙂
[…] may have seen I wore my DIY lace-up flats with my handmade cocoon dress. Umi is 4.5kg now (almost 9 pounds), so I needed stylish flats for walking around the city with […]
Looks good enough to make.
Love the dress. Do you have a pattern for #1 and #2 above. Thanks.
Cindy
Hi Cindy 🙂 Thanks so much!
No they are just photos of dresses you can buy. I used them as inspiration to make my own cocoon dress.
hi, i’m so inspired by your blog here…. been so long searching for a blog like this <3
i saw your reversible dress pattern, it's very easy to follow, but do you make basic pattern first before you turn the pattern into another dress?
Hi Lidya,
I’m so happy you found my blog!
With the reversible dress pattern, you make a paper pattern first before you cut the fabric.
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