Sewing the Eden Wrap Dress

Can a wrap dress also be a robe?

CEFR Level B2-C1

The Eden Wrap Dress sewing pattern is from Sinclair Patterns. Like all their patterns, it does not have a large enough seam allowance. Also like all their patterns, even with their petite line, I still have to shorten the distance between my shoulder and bust. Because of my physiology, I also have to make other adjustments to avoid a gaping neckline.

I first sewed this pattern according to what the pattern sheet said would be correct for my size. I did not make adjustments this first time. I have never worn a wrap dress, so I wasn’t sure what would be considered the intended fit. To save fabric, I made the blouse version. The result was wearable, but I wanted to tweak the fit.

I made another blouse. It was okay. I couldn’t tell if my adjustments had helped or made things worse. By this point, I was sick of the project, but thought I was close enough to a fit to risk using my good fabric.

I like the look of this, but it doesn’t feel like “me.” Plus, I’ll always be worried about the necline gaping. The blouse is well constructed, with seam finishes and such, so I plan to donate it to the clothes closet.

I made the dress in an ombre polyester lightweight satin from Cali Fabrics. I love the colorway of this fabric. One day, I will custom print my own version on natural fibers. As much as I love the look of this dress, I have only worn it once, largely because the polyester doesn’t breathe. 

The end result is wearable, but I need to go back to my first size. What I learned is that if the bodice is too small, then the crossover is too low. The larger size gave me a higher neckline. With the size I made, the bodice was far too small. You can tell from where the bust darts are (coming up from the waist). Unfortunately, I did not have enough fabric to cut the bodice again. To close in all that open space across my torso, I sewed strips of the fabric to the neckline. I like the result. 

I prefer my short skirts to hit mid-knee. I’ll need to add two inches to the skirt pattern. 

The Eden Wrap Dress is a true wrap dress. It opens up like a robe. Since I had never worn a wrap dress, I didn’t understand how the waist ties work. I had hoped that this pattern could give me a dress that would double as a robe. As it is, I could put it on for shoulder coverage, but I wouldn’t be able to tie it for modesty like you might with a robe. Also, the ties are so long that they drag the ground if you don’t tie them.

Not wanting to abandon the project as a complete failure, I considered. Then I sewed in snaps to hold the waist ties inside the dress. With this modification, I can wear the dress as a duster. It’s been too warm to try that yet, but I hope wearing it over clothes will remove the feeling of wearing a plastic bag.

Adding a contrast sash

How to sew thread belt loops

With the waist ties hidden inside the dress, I sewed in thread belt loops. You make these by cutting 5-6 strands of thread longer than you need, then zig-zagging over them with. I suggest cutting your core threads long enough for all your belt loops plus some extra. After zig-zagging over them, you can cut the long length to the desired shortness. You might need some backing paper for the sewing part.

Once I had attached the thread belt loops, I used satin blanket binding as a sash. With these modifications, the wrap dress could work as a robe. As you can see, the dress doesn’t hang perfectly. There may be a way to fix this, but I ran out of interest in more iterations for now. 

This sewing project taught me that for people who like to have a minimal closet or to pack multi-use or convertible clothing for travel, a wrap dress with the right features could be used as a dress, duster, and robe.