Rayon Sapphire Maxi Dress
Time for some summer Sapphire dress inspo!
I made this maxi dress — the very first prototype for what would eventually be called Sapphire — back in May of 2020. The photos above were taken later that year in August 2020. The original concept had existed as a sketch in my “garment ideas” sketchbook for some time before I finally cut into this Rifle Paper Co floral rayon I had in my stash. And then (as often happens with my pattern design process) I wore it around for a couple of years to let it “marinate” if you will. In 2022, I picked it back up again, made quite a few changes to the construction method and pattern pieces, the result of which was this tiered floral dress, and then eventually (now) the Sapphire pattern.
This dress vs. Sapphire pattern — what changed?
The main difference is that this dress does not have a button placket on the skirt, just on the bodice. The front and back skirts on this dress are identical - both cut on the fold - unlike the current Sapphire dress which has two front skirts and one back skirt. I must admit, it took me some head scratching to figure out how to construct this dress, so for subsequent versions I made the button placket go all the way down the front of the skirt. I do think that you could still make the dress with a button-less skirt, but it would be easiest to also then cut the front bodice on the fold and eliminate the buttons entirely. I want to try making one (without buttons) eventually, so if you try it, please let me know how it works out for you.
Second: Perhaps the most obvious difference is that this (maxi) version is just longer; the final pattern is meant to be more of a “midi”-length dress. To recreate this one you would need to add length to the skirt pieces to make it a longer maxi dress. For me, this meant adding 5” to the skirt pattern piece (I am 5’8” and the pattern is designed for a height of 5’6), but if you are 5’6 or 5’5 you could probably add 3-4” to get a similar look (look for a blog post on Adjusting the Sapphire Skirt, soon!)
Finally: The “V” neckline on this dress was much too low for my personal taste. I even took in the shoulders a bit to raise the original neckline, but it still wasn’t quite where I wanted it and to this day when I wear this dress I still have to be careful about bending over. So I shifted the “V” in the neckline up for subsequent versions and you see that result in the final pattern as well — it’s just not as low.
(Which reminds me - someone wrote me an email to ask about moving the Sapphire neckline up even more, so I have it on my to-do list to create a little bodice adjustment post to show you how I would adjust the bodice in a few different ways)
I do think rayon is a lovely fabric choice for this pattern. Especially if you’re making it with the shorter sleeve, which can look a little “poofy” if made in a fabric with too much stand; by contrast rayon allows the sleeve to drape beautifully to the elbow in just exactly the way I intended. Making a mental note to find something similar to make another Sapphire in, bonus points if it’s something with tencel so it’s less environmentally questionable.
Here are some more photos of me wearing it more recently:
And personally I think it is a rather genius print-mixing maneuver to wear it with my Wiksten Jacket:
