Centaurée

The new Deer&Doe pattern came out today! It is a summer dress called Centaurée, and even if I don’t model for the patterns anymore (the lovely Marion is now doing it) I’m still in the loop somehow because I’m a pattern tester, so I can show you my own version of the dress today 🙂

Centaurée is a summer dress with double straps and a gathered skirt. The main feature of the pattern is the bodice which has an unusual star detailing. The bodices of the versions shown in the online shop have been made from one fabric, with for the beige version some contrasting piping. I went another way for my test version, by making the side pieces and the back from a contrasting fabric, color block style, and I love the result!

I find this bodice really inspiring, and I can picture plenty of different versions: playing with piping, with stripes, with different colors… It’s a great blank canvas, and I can’t wait to see it being made by different persons!

Moreover, the sewing process itself was really fun, especially the way the straps are made: they are made from biais binding which is sewn along the neckline and back and then sewn by itself to form the straps. I really like the double straps thing, especially how they are sewn on this version.

I made this dress in a polyester crepe that I got from Mag at a fabric swap. I had been looking for this very fabric after having seen it used by Saki (to make panties!), so I was thrilled to go back home with it. The Centauree was a perfect opportunity to use it: it is so lightweight that I had no idea what else to do with it, and the contrasting parts are a welcome addition to the very busy pattern. The contrasting fabric is also polyester crepe, but much heavier, too heavy for this pattern, so the seams are all wavy. Don’t do as I did, if you want to try mixing fabrics, use fabrics with similar weights!

I’ve also tried the asymmetrical, or high-low hem, but on the pattern I tested the skirt was less full than it is now, so I like the new version much better. I did mess up with my hem, so the skirt is coming back to this inside more than it should. Still, I used to hate high-low hems up until recently (they were everywhere these last summers, and I thought they were just plain fugly)… well now I kind of like them. Since making this dress, I bought the pattern of the Flora dress from By Hand London and it also has a asymmetrical hem option that is quite tempting…

All in all I’m very happy with this pattern, and I’m looking forward making another version with this time a better choice of fabric weights and a fullerskirt. Despite the hem issue, I’m definitely going to wear this one a lot this summer, as the lightweight fabric will be perfect for the hot and heavy weather of North Carolina!

Centaurée Dress
Centaurée by Deer&Doe (pattern test)
Size 38
Polyester crepe