Making Birgitta Helmersson’s Slip Dress (again)
I’m back on the quest for the perfect nightie pattern for my teen, and I think I’ve found it with Birgitta Helmersson’s slip dress from her book Zero Waste Patterns.
My teen has long covid but worse than me, and spends a lot of time resting in bed.
Previously I tried making a nightie using the beach kaftan pattern, and the verdict was that it was good to wear when we have visitors and when she’s out of bed, but there’s too much fabric to “manage” in bed.
The design brief was:
- a low underarm and neckline so it doesn’t cut in (important for lying in bed).
- knee length.
- no pockets, which is fine by me.
- 100% cotton for breathability
- no “warm” fabrics such as flanelette. She has trouble regulating her temperature and gets hot easily.
But it turns out what she really needs is a strappy sundress-style nightie (yep, even in winter). Nighties without sleeves are better as they don’t tend to ruck up under the arms in bed.
I’ve made the slip dress once before, as a tweed pinafore. I experimented with a bias cut layout which worked very well.
This time I did a bias cut layout again, where one makes a bias tube then cuts out the pattern from it. Here’s the tube. The fabric is argyle print quilting cotton.
I made a paper pattern for the slip dress this time, as I want it to be easily replicatable. In the book, it’s drawn straight onto the fabric with the aid of an armhole template. Happily, Past Me had thoughtfully left notes and an adjusted template in the book.
The armhole cutouts get used for the side split detail:
I bound the edges using this fantastic vintage bias binding. Pure cotton and it sewed like a dream. I can apply bias binding without using any pins these days, as I’ve done it a lot, and this stuff made it really easy.
It only let me down once!
I did two very quick fittings (standing still is a huge drain on energy for both of use; oddly it’s more draining than slow walking). I lowered the front neck to make a shallow V, as requested.
Neither of us think the narrow straps will be too durable, but they can be replaced if the garment outlives them.
The Verdict: She loved it. Big tick! She wore it that night and asked me to make 1000 more 🙂
1000 might make a serious dent in your fabric stash
I’m glad it was a success. I think it worked for all the reasons it failed for me as a top! I felt overexposed/underdressed.
1000 may even result in negative stash, something not seen since the late 1980s. And I would only have to do laundry every 2.7 years Haha!
Yes, the strappy singlet-y design is perfect for her.
Glad this worked out for her! One of these days I’d to try a knit version using fold over elastic for the binding.
Thanks Michelle, me too! I think it would work in a knit and you are very good with knit fabrics.
This is brilliant, in many ways.
A long bias-cut strappy slip makes an excellent nightie, especially in summer. I made one several years ago, out of cotton voile, and it’s holding up very well. The one fragile part of the design is where the straps are attached to the main body, where can be some strain on the fabric. The straps themselves are in perfect condition. If you want to wear it sitting up or out of bed, especially around visitors, the Elbe ZW robe pattern is free and would look great with this.
Moving on to the ZW aspect, this is a really clever spin on the BH design. My bias-cut slip was extremely wasteful of fabric, although I did get a lot of pocket pieces, lining and bias tape out of it. I made the Goldfinch bias shift top a couple of weeks ago, after your review, and the idea of constructing a bias tube before making the main garment is a game-changer. Drape and movement are vastly better than if the garment had been cut on the grain, and the amount of ease that would normally have to be factored in for woven as opposed to stretch fabric is also considerably reduced.
Thanks Rachel, I wish I’d thought of the strappy nightie idea before!
We think the straps will be strong enough where they’re attached, but as her nighties are washed after only 24hrs of wear (she gets very sweaty, and only wears night attire not daytime clothes), we reckon the bias binding will eventually abraid from the laundering. Luckily, I have the power to repair it.
Bias cut and zero waste have a lot of potential together, both with reducing waste and sometimes using even less fabric than conventional layouts. It does involve some extra seams but this can be an advantage.
I hope you enjoyed making the bias shirt top, and thanks for reading my review.
What a great result!
Thanks Bea!
What a happy story!!! There’s nothing like having some type of sensory comfort — or even pleasure! — with all the discomfort, exhaustion and pain of LC. I appreciate you mentioning that it’s quilting cotton used on the bias — I have mostly quilting cotton and am always wondering about ways to use it for garments that will be comfortable! (And the last thing I want is to have to buy more fabric when I already have so much…)
Dresses don’t suit my gender very well but there’s a lot to be said for a garment that has no waistband, and doesn’t require any closures to use the toilet or put on/take off. So I’ve been thinking of making myself a dress/garment like this for flares, which for me are gut-related and also temperature-dysregulatey. So it’s so so helpful that you’re sharing what symptoms of your kid’s you’re addressing and working with!
I think my library has this BH ZW book, I’ll have to take a look.
Also ugh, standing up. Exhausting! For me, I’ve noticed that if I have to stand, going on to my tip-toes and back down keeps the blood flowing in my calves better…and leaning against anything helps me as well. I hope that doesn’t come across as Unsolicited Advice but just Some Things I Find Helpful In Case that’s Interesting or Useful! <3
Yes, you are so right about sensory comfort! Especially when things are worse. I wondered if the quilting cotton wouldn’t be soft enough, and I showed it to her with some trepidation, but she said it was perfect. I think the bias cut definitely makes garments more comfortable. She used to be a pajama wearer, but switched to nighties for all the reasons you mention.
Thank you for the standing tip. If you don’t mind me asking, are you a POTSie?
Very nice job, I really ought to try this trick of cutting out of a bias tube, it really looks great.
Thanks Liseli, I think this technique can work really well for some garments.
Glad your daughter is happy with her new nightie. I have had problems in the past where the bis straps stretched and stretched after repeated wear. I zig zagged strait tape into the straps as a stabiliser when I remade the style.
I can also recommend the flat chemise style nightie with a three quarter sleeve, an underarm gusset and deep cut out at the front. She’s not the only one who gets warm in bed
Hi Kaz, sorry your comment ended up in spam for an unknown reason and I’ve just seen it and un-spammed you. That is an excellent tip to stop the straps stretching and I will do that with the next ones, which I’m planning in the coming weeks. Many thanks.
I have used this pattern but found I don’t like the high neck line. Making it into a v neck is a game changer for me. I also have a sun dress pattern with a similar straight, high neck line. It has been in the mending pile for a couple of summers as I don’t have enough spare fabric to make new, longer straps and the hassels factor was a bit too high to keep my interest in fixing it. Read this post and had a duhh moment. The front facing was deep enough that I easily altered it to a v neck. Only took about half an hour from start to finish.
S o big thank you for offering a solution to a problem you didn’t know existed.
I love a happy ending!
Like you, my teen and I found the neckline a little high, and I think we lowered it about 4cm back & front, and then made the V-neck. It actually looks OK worn back to front, even though there are darts at the front (the print is so busy it’s not noticeable).