It’s the first week of Daylight Savings Time and my circadian rhythm is completely out of whack! While I know things will eventually get better, it truly sucks in the interim. At least I have beautiful things to make and wear while I wait for Spring to truly appear. So typically, I’m not an animal print clothing person. Great for you if you love it, but it’s just not my thing. Because of that, I was initially hesitant when I received this multicolored animal print fabric named Tumbled Prints from Minerva. But I kept an open mind, and now I love this Supima cotton lawn fabric! The cotton lawn is floaty and absolutely perfect for the upcoming warm weather. I paired the fabric with the Cashmerette Club Kineton Dress for a quick, stylish look that I can wear for work or for play!
The Kineton Dress was first released in June 2022, making it an early addition to the Cashmerette Club library. The pattern can be sewn as a dress or a top, with short or long sleeves. One of the features of this woven dress pattern is the use of bias tape. Similar to the Closet Core Jo Dress and Jumpsuit pattern, bias tape is used to create visual interest down the center of the garment. I chose to skip this though, instead cutting one size bigger than normal to accommodate for the lack of bias tape. I prefer this streamlined look but could see myself revisiting this pattern if I had solid fabric with matching or complementary bias tape on hand.
Whenever I launder fabric in preparation for sewing, I use a dye catcher. This is extra important when you have a fabric with multiple colors on a white base. This tip has saved many precious yards of fabric from accidental staining, without stripping the color from the fabric. The Minerva Exclusive Tumbled Prints Supima Cotton Lawn fabric feels amazing on the skin and is easy to sew with. Because it’s lightweight, I’d suggest finishing the seams with French seams, but a serger/overlocker will work in a pinch. I was limited in time and used my serger with no issues.
I can’t think of anything that says “SPRING” more than a light and airy dress with pockets. The way I’m digging this crazy animal print dress was a complete surprise to me and it shows what can happen when you start a project with little to no expectations. I highly recommend going through your pattern collection, pulling out that pattern that you keep saying “one day” to, and start sewing. Who knows? Maybe you’ll love it!
