Named Clothing Kielo wrap dress

When I heard that the #sewtogetherforsummer challenge was a wrap dress, I did not know whether to take part or not. Wrap dresses are not really my thing and as I live in a windy city, they are unpractical. However, the little note down the page saying that Named Clothing Kielo wrap dress counts remained in the back of my mind when I bumped into Named clothing stand at Ommel. I knew that this was a very popular pattern but would it work for me? Finally, I decided to find out! I bought the pattern and then went around the booths until I found a nice organic jersey for it at Nuppu print company with a beautiful print designed by Satu Kontinen.

Sizing

I don’t know whether I can say anything about Kielo that has not been already said. It comes in European sizes 32 to 46 (US 0 to 14) and the sizes are smallish. I made the size 38 that fitted nicely.

This pattern takes pretty much fabric if you end up using a directional print as I did. I had to go back to Nuppu shop to buy more for 2 metres wasn’t enough.

Sewing and the fit

The dress was very quick and easy to make. It took me only a couple of hours. The only change I had to make was to shorten the dress a bit since the hem was too long.  I also made the armholes a bit smaller since the weight of the fabric was stretching them. Otherwise, the fit was perfect.

tie it to the front or tie it to the back – everything works!

What makes this dress so nice is that you can play with the ties and tie the dress either to the front or to the back – or you could leave the dress open! In the first pictures, I tied the wrap to the front. However, the wrap looks just as fab tied to the back:

I am so inspired by this dress and if I had not already cut several projects, I would very much like to make another straight away! The dress is comfortable and stylish and I love the fact that it is completely local design from the pattern all the way to the printed fabric. In fact, I have met all of the designers in person!

the fabric

I have made several children’s dresses out of Nuppu fabrics but never anything for myself. I thought the prints might be a bit girly for me, but I actually love how this print looks on me! I am already eyeing this Kanerva print for a future project…

what is “Kielo” anyway?

Kielo, of course, is this flower, the lily of the valley:

Now that I think about it the shape of the wrap somehow resembles the shape that the leaves of the flower make. What do you think?

the conclusions

Anyway, if you haven’t already tried Named Clothing Kielo, I can warmly recommend it. It is quite unique in design and easy to make!

I hope you liked this post and do subscribe if you want to receive notifications on my future posts! Happy sewing!

Katja