Silk Kielo Wrap

Named is a Finnish indie pattern company that is all about clean lined simplicity with some interesting design detail. The Kielo wrap dress caught might attention with it's interesting take on a wrap but without adding any bulk and remaining very feminine.

Back in April when I made this we were heading into winter down-under but I was still keen to get a Kielo into my wardrobe that I could wear at least during autumn and spring.  So rather than a maxi dress of the original pattern design, I decided on a long top that I could wear with a pair of leggings and a jacket/cardigan would be more season appropriate.

I downloaded the PDF pattern from the Named website and assembled.  I made a couple of adjustments to the pattern:  the first was the obvious reduction in the length and the other was the dropping of the bust dart by 1/2", which is normal for me with most patterns.  I didn't do a muslin for this, but rather did a very basic tissue fit.

Based on the Named size chart I cut a size US8, purely based on the bust measurement.  This was spot on!  The top is quite fitted and is very well designed with the bust dart providing great shape to the upper body.

I picked up this cotton silk from The Fabric Warehouse, not particularly for this pattern but because it caught my eye while I was in store.  It was the perfect weight for this pattern, which suggests light woven or knit fabrics.  The instructions recommend finishing all the edges first, but I found that my overlocker doesn't deal with light weight fabrics very well so that wasn't a great option, especially because it slightly stretched all the edges because most are on the bias.

With such a lightweight fabric I didn't want to add machine stitching around the neckline or the armholes so I ended up turning them over twice and and stitching them in place with a simple slip stitch.

I love this top and have had it on a weekly rotation in my wardrobe ever since I finished it ... back in April.  It is a very simple pattern to make up and would recommend it to beginners.  I love the clean simple lines with the fitted bodice - it just feels rights.  I am definitely thinking about making a long version of the dress for summer.

More photos on my Flickr -->