This month I’ve had the exciting opportunity to collaborate with Caspar Design by sewing a garment using one of their custom printed fabrics! They are a micro factory that not only allows you to use custom prints on different fabrics but also produce custom products! When they reached out to me, I was genuinely excited about the range of fabric types they offered and the fact their price point is very reasonable for custom printing. 

Choosing the fabric

This gorgeous illustrated print stood out to me immediately and I loved how unique and vibrant the colours felt. There are so many fabric types you can choose to print on and I decided to use their cotton sateen. I knew I wanted to make the Ashling dress by Papercut patterns and was unsure whether I wanted to use a traditional cotton or if I wanted to play with a fabric that would have a more interesting feel. I am over the moon with the cotton sateen choice as it has a beautiful handle and structure.

You can choose the scale of the pattern in the selection process and I decided on a medium sized print that felt bold and eye-catching so the intricate pattern wouldn’t get lost. I have worked with cotton sateen previously and not loved it, but I can tell you that this fabric has that quality and weight that just feels expensive and luxurious. It was an absolute dream when I received it and I was honestly surprised by the quality and vibrancy of the fabric.

Sewing with Cotton Sateen

This fabric was a pleasure to work with and even though it was a sateen it was not slippery when handling and the composition allowed for a nice medium weight fabric that could hold it’s shape. Gathering the fabric by hand was effortless and I was able to create a structured collar without needing to use interfacing! The process of sewing and pressing the fabric was great and it never felt too tricky to deal with. I also managed to make beautiful buttonholes along the front of the dress and sleeve cuffs that didn’t suck up the fabric whilst sewing! I feel cotton sateen in general is a very beginner friendly choice that allows you to create more elevated garments without having to deal with harder to sew fabrics.  

Using the Ashling Dress pattern

This really felt like the perfect fabric and pattern pairing and I love how this medium weight fabric doesn’t feel heavy. I can already imagine how amazing this would work as a gorgeous lightweight jacket and am excited to try using this particular fabric again. If you’re interested in Caspar Design be sure to check out their website and if you’re wanting the exact fabric I used you can find that here.

I decided to cut out size 2 of the Ashling dress and am very happy with the overall fit of the garment. The instructions were easy to follow and assembling the sleeve placket (which I thought would be the scariest pact) actually turned out to be amazing! I think that’s down to well written and illustrated instructions that break down each step and I honestly couldn’t been happier with the whole dress!

Overall I am obsessed with this dress and feel like this is a winner! I 100% recommend using Caspar Design and loved pairing their fabrics with the Ashling dress pattern. This year I am all for experimenting with bright and bold fabrics and couldn’t be happier with this collaboration!