Orchidée is an architectural princess-style dress, the marriage of a bold and maximalist silhouette with a feminine and romantic touch. Inspired by the cottage core trend as epitomized by the famous strawberry dress, we wanted to design a garment as grand as your next debut—whether it’s a summer wedding, a romantic date, or a weekend brunch with friends.

With two views, you can make Orchidée into a midi dress with a voluminous skirt, or short blouse with a ruffled peplum. Both versions are fully lined (except the sleeves), giving the garment a beautiful finish and luxurious wearing experience. Delicate bridal-style buttons add a but of romantic whimsy and provide a fun and interesting sewing opportunity.

If you’re ready to embrace the sunshine, a renewed season of life, and return to a softer and simpler way of living, read on for our Orchidée fabric recommendations . . .

Inspiration

Choosing Fabric

Orchidée is designed for very lightweight woven fabrics with some body. A stiffer hand will help preserve the intended silhouette and prevent the puffy sleeves from collapsing (for this reason, we don’t recommend viscose or crepes, or anything else with too much drape). Cotton and linen voiles, swiss dots, and crisp silks are all good options.

It is especially important to choose a lightweight fabric, especially for the lining, lest the garment become too heavy. Even though we recommend batiste for the outer fabric, lining batiste with batiste will be uncomfortable.

Finally, be thoughtful about choosing and sewing with sheer fabrics. While the lining provides a great opportunity to play with transparent effects, in order to get a clean finish you will need to take into account the button front, seam allowance, and interfaced areas of the pattern.

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Are you ready to make your spring debut in the Orchidée blouse and dress? We can’t wait to see your versions!