Making the Mona Trapeze Dress with Linen

Originally posted 2023-06-27 13:41:16.

An Easy to Sew Dress in a Beautiful Fabric

The Mona Trapeze Dress is a stunning garment that can be made with a variety of fabrics, but linen is a particularly popular choice. Despite its reputation as a luxurious fabric, linen can actually be quite affordable and is a favorite among sewers for its ease of use and comfortable feel. With a bit of wrinkle, linen adds a touch of effortless elegance to any outfit. For those looking to make a dress with linen, there are plenty of online stores that offer free patterns and a wide selection of high-quality linen fabrics. And for those who want to add a personal touch, hand-dyeing the fabric can create a truly unique and beautiful finished product.

So let’s talk about one fabric store in particular where I found the pattern and fabric to make the Mona Trapeze Dress… Fabrics-store.com has a wide variety of beautiful linen (and other fabrics) in varying weights for all types of garments. They have an assortment of both free and premium sewing patterns that are easy to sew, as well as great customer service on hand to answer questions you may have about a particular fabric.

When I saw that they had a great deal on bleached medium weight linen, I quickly ordered 10 yards. I had a few projects in mind that I wanted to make, then color with fabric dye. One project in particular was the Mona Trapeze Dress, an easy to sew dress with simple lines and bound edges, which is one of their free patterns. The dress also includes pockets in the side seams and a split opening in the back at the neckline!

I printed the pattern and taped the sheets together. I loved the cutaway armholes and the higher neckline but the overall length of the dress looked very short to me (I’m a tall girl!) so I added 3 inches to the hemline. I also decided to add a tuck in the back (at my lower back) just to pull the waist in a bit. Outside of that, I made no other changes.

I decided to assemble the dress first before dying the fabric. I felt it would be easier, and it definitely was! I cut strips of bias to bind the neck and armholes, and serged all of the seams. Before I sewed the side seams, I added a bit of embroidery to the right side at the neck.

Once it was sewn together, I added a hook and eye to the back neckline, and hemmed the dress. I ran it through the washing machine using the rinse and spin cycle, then used RIT dye in a Denim color (<– affiliate link!) to dye the dress.

This dress is my absolute favorite dress… and yes, it is wrinkly in the photos because I’d been wearing it! It is comfortable, cool and looks so effortless in wrinkly linen, and sewing a linen dress is super-easy! Have questions about making the Mona Trapeze Dress in linen? Leave a comment below!