Hi, I'm Chris (@chrisinseams) and I'm based in San Francisco. I'm a nurse and I love to sew in my free time. I've always wanted to sew like my grandma who was an amazing seamstress but never had a chance to ask her to teach me to sew. Instead, I took a basic sewing class the year before COVID hit but otherwise I'm self taught. My sewing journey began with making masks during COVID and that somehow progressed to swimwear. I still can't believe I started with knits! I've been sewing garments for the past 1.5 years and I'm still learning.
The Champagne Field dress has been at the top of my to-make list for a while and I'm so happy I invested in this versatile pattern. I was inspired to hack this pattern because a Christy Dawn prairie-style dress with lots of ruffles was missing from my wardrobe. The Champagne field dress pattern was perfect for this project. The pattern offers two sleeve options and when I couldn't decide which one to go with, I combined the two because why not?
For the sleeve hack, I cut out both sleeve options. I found it easier to make and gather the flutter sleeve first before basting to the armscye. For this hack, I omitted the armhole bias tape. Next, I attached the puff sleeve piece. I used a lot of pins and took my time pinning the many layers of fabric (bodice, flutter sleeve, puff sleeve). Lastly, I followed the pattern instructions to sew the side seams and finish the puff sleeve hem.
If you want to try this hack, I recommend a fabric that doesn't have an obvious wrong side because the underside of the ruffle is fairly visible. For a future Champagne dress, I plan on increasing the width of the ruffle to have a more dramatic sleeve. I love that Matchy Matchy offers so many options for customizing the Champagne Field dress and the hack possibilities are endless!
