Posted on: March 31, 2023 Posted by: Anjori Comments: 0

When’s the last time you cleaned your serger? Maintaining your serger will help keep it running smoothly and allow you to make more projects without hiccups.

Now..if you missed my other serger post (perfect serger tensions) and freebies (serger tips, the beginner’s guide doesn’t cover and serger tensions chart), be sure to check them out too.

The pattern

We’re also talking Willow Wrap Dress hacks – because I can’t leave well enough alone. 🤣

This is the first time I have made the Willow Wrap  from Love Notions and I don’t know why I waited this long; you should definitely get the pattern today while its on sale for just $5 (today only) and make your own!

The Willow Wrap Dress is a faux wrap dress made for knit fabrics. It has two necklines (high and low) with an optional flounce. It has 5 sleeve options (flutter, short, elbow, 3/4, and long).

You can made it in dress length or as a peplum top.
And for those of you who are or know someone who is pregnant, there is a maternity option too. I can see this dress being great for breastfeeding as well.

CHECK BANNER at top of this page for the code for an EXTRA 10% OFF!

The modifications

The dress length hits around the knee, but I wanted a maxi dress. Instead of using the skirt that came with the Willow – I used the Summer Basics maxi skirt that I already had traced and sized just right. I’m all for doing less work when possible.

The waist seam did need to be widened 1/2″ on both sized to accommodate the size bodice I made, but I don’t think that would be the case if I made the size that I should have made (it was slightly too big, so I took in the side seams).

The other hack was inspired by a Pintrest post – a cropped crossover cardigan. I had both ties and button closure as inspiration but went with the ties in the end.

Pintreset inspiration of crossover cardigans

Accidentally, made the mistake of cutting the swayback adjustment instead of straightening it out. The back was lifting up too much so I ended up adding elastic in between the hem binding to pull it in. Oops!

For the crossover cardigan, I created straps, about 1″ shorter than the side seam, which I graded down to 2″. Then fitted the open side seam into the strap and stitched.

3 Figures: 1 showing the straps flat, 2 showing the strap opening from the top, 3 showing the strap opening from the bottom
2 Figures: 1 showing the open side seam of cardigan next to the strap opening. 2 Showing the open seam of cardigan pinned inside the strap.
The fabric

My maxi dress is made from a polyester something – no idea what kind of knit fabric it is, other than it is not double brushed or french terry. What I do know, is that it is pretty heavy and it weight down the bodice quite a bit.

To accommodate the lengthened bodice, I folded the waist seam and sewed a casing and fed a drawstring through it to pull in the waist. It was just what I needed to hold the weight. I might try feeding elastic through it though, just so I don’t have to keep tying it. We’ll see.

For the cross over cardigan, I used a black lace that has a tiny bit of stretch. I added an extra 1″ seam allowance just to ensure I have enough fabric.

Sizing

I made an XL at the side seams because it was my first time making it – so I usually make a couple sizes larger. I can always take it in if it is too large. Which is exactly what I ended up doing. I think next time, I’ll go to a medium.

serger maintenance

Okay, here’s the video on how to clean and maintain your serger. Check it out!

Will you be joining in on the #LNSererChallenge? Will you grab up the Willow Wrap Dress? Let me know in the comments!

How to support my work

A lot of time and effort goes into these posts – sewing, filming/editing videos and photos, writing the blogs – and if love the content and find it valuable to your own sewing, you can support me financially in a non-committal manner by purchasing me a ”coffee” through Ko-Fi here.  $3 gets me one cup of “coffee”. Thank you!

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Some links contained in this post may be affiliate links, which means I get a small commission if you purchase through these links and helps keep this site running. I was provided with the pattern to test it out, but all opinions are my own

Links and patterns mentioned in this post are listed below for your convenience.

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