My lovely friend Teresa aka ‘Girl from the Naki’ asked me if I would take part in Jungle January.  For those that aren’t aware Jungle January is when you hunt down some fabric lurking in the stash and create a garment that reminds you of the jungle.

I did a quick search of the hashtag #junglejanuary in Instagram to see what others had made. My search revealed a huge amount of garments mainly using leopard. In my stash I  found this lovely stretch knit fabric that I sourced from a Trelise Cooper sale way back when she sold fabric. The length of the sleeve and the print makes me feel somewhat like a pretty/sexy Air New Zealand hostess.

Here we are trying to be tigers rah! Trees is wearing a Salme Pussy Bow. You can read more about her dress here.

My finished creation is made using the Rachael Wrap Dress from Maria Denmark. It’s a lovely lady-like pattern that can be whipped up in an evening using an overlocker. I used cotton tape across the shoulder to stop it from stretching out.

The pattern is low cut which means it makes me feel a tad uncomfortable to wear it to work. In my attempt to make the dress more modest I doubled the neckband width. At the centre back I topstitched the band down leaving the rest flowy. The finished product drapes beautifully. Because the knit is hard to finish well I stitched the hem up but left the overlap side unhemmed. It works perfectly and so far has worn well.

Details-

Pattern: Maria Denmark Rachel wrap dress

Fabric cost: $10

Here’s another version of the dress.

Happy sewing xx