*swish swish* it’s the best thing about a fringed dress, the swishing around in it. The sound of the fringe and the effect it has when you swing your hips around, it’s so much fun.
I saw a fringe dress on somebody I follow on Instagram some time ago, and it stuck in my head. Some day I will make a fringe dress! And so I did. I ordered my fringe on Aliexpress because I could find a large variety of fringe there that was fairly affordable. I ordered 20 yards in total (around 18 meters) to put on my dress.
All black was my first thought for colour. But a hot pink dress with black fringe also crossed my mind, or all red. In the end I decided to go with all black because I can accessorize it however I want. It’s also easier to shop for fabric since it can be tricky to find fabric to match the colour of the trim perfectly. Also all black is the perfect variety on a classic LBD.
For the base of my dress I used the B6453 pattern. This is my 8th or 9th dress from this pattern (I lost track along the way). The pattern is super flattering, quick to make and simple enough to be loaded with fringe. This was only the second time I made view A of this pattern with the narrow skirt.
Because of my wide hips I had to grade up to the largest size of the pattern and it fitted okay but could be better. So I adjusted the fit of the skirt to be smoother on my hips and more tapered towards the hem of the skirt. I think I will transfer these adjustments to the dress I made before with this skirt, the shell of this black dress fitted very nicely!
Before putting on the fringe I completely finished the dress. So that’s with the facing, hem and zipper. I did change my zipper to a blind zip so I could match up the fringe fully at the back. With the base of the dress done it was time to fringe!
The fringe I got is about 10 cm long and like I said above, I got 20 yards of it. The best tip I can give for working with fringe is to be patient and to work from the bottom to the top!!!
In my research for this dress I only found one blog post and it was by Gertie. She stated that it’s most flattering to have a row of fringe start at your waistline. That also made the most sense to me. I also wanted the rows of fringe to overlap a bit. So I started to measure out my fringe. I found that I could do a row of fringe every 7 cm on the skirt and the bottom row would hang over the edge just a little, perfect!
Starting from the hem I measured where the bottom row of fringe was going to be and marked it with chalk. After stitching the first row on I marked the next two rows and so on until I could sew the row that was set against the waistline seam.
Sewing the fringe on is fairly easy. I would suggest using a strong needle since you have to punch through your fabric (+seam allowances) and the fringe itself. Also taking your time to properly mark the rows of fringe is important to make sure they are straight. at the end/beginning of a row you can turn the end of the fringe in a little, and stitch that with the row so you won’t have any loose ends of fringe. At the zipper I started sewing a little from the edge and finished the ends by hand, getting as close to the zipper as I could. I stitched the fringe on with a wide zig-zag stitch.
For the top I started with the bottom row measuring it out so the end of the fringe would meet the top of the first row of the skirt. Then I had to play a bit with the fringe to get the middle row right. I pinned on the top row, following the curve of the neckline. Then I put the middle row of fringe in between that, slightly following the curve of the neckline. The fringe overlaps more on the bodice then it did on the skirt in some places and I really like the effect.
I sewed on the top row by hand so it would be neat and I wouldn’t have to sew through thick layers of fabric, seam allowance and facing.
If you want to make this dress the #B6453 view A lends itself quite well to it! Since I made mine, Butterick released a pattern that has a fringed version that looks a lot like this one #B6627. Do choose a sturdy fabric with minimal stretch, after all of the fringe is on it, it gets quite heavy. I had 9 rows of fringe on the bottom and 3 on the bodice.
Overall I’m super pleased with the outcome of this dress. It has a Gatsby 20’s vibe but also feels modern.
I wore this dress with my black lace bolero on new years eve, I loved the outfit!
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