The Dress I Wore to Newcastle Frocktails 2026 🤩👗

A little story about the dress I made for Newcastle Frocktails 2026 ✨🧵

If you came to the event, or follow socials – you might have seen the dress already 🤩

I LOVE the colour, and the feel of wearingt his luxe silk chiffon floaty fabric – I felt so fancy! 🤪
It started life as the exact same pattern as our crisp little white day dress version.

Same base.
Completely. Different. Look.

That is the whole point of the Never Tear Us Apart Dress (NTUA). Once you get the fit right for you, it becomes a “choose your own adventure pattern”.

Version 1: The fresh day dress 🤍

The original is made in our white cotton seersucker, or Santorini Seersucker Stripe with ladder trim inserted through the tiers and at the sleeve hem. It is simple, airy, and very “wear it to the markets, then keep it on for lunch” comfy.

The trim is an optional extra, not a requirement. You can absolutely sew the tiers as regular gathered seams and keep it clean and classic.

Version 2: The Newcastle Frocktails dress 💙

For Newcastle Frocktails, I wanted something floaty, a little dramatic, and very ocean-mood. I used our Ocean Ombré Silk Chiffon, which is sheer and whisper light, so the entire dress is double layered in the same colours. Even with the double layers, it still feels light on the body. I wore a slip underneath. The silk chiffon has enough weight to fall and drape beautifully, without losing that luxurious dramatic silk weighty, yet airy movement. I don’t know how else to describe it?

This dress is made from our Never Tear Us Apart Dress PDF Pattern. The same base pattern as the original white cotton version with ladder trim. That is the beauty of having a base that fits you. Once the fit is right, you can play.

Watch the whole walkthrough for my dress here:

I kept the fit through the body the same, although I did go up a size on the bodice because I knew I would be chucking it in the wash. Then I started remixing.

What I changed

• Lower neckline
  I dropped the centre front neckline by about 3 cm for more of an evening feel.
• Fabric manipulation on the front
  The detail on the front is purely decorative and does not affect the fit. I mapped out where the colours would sit using chalk before cutting the pattern piece. I stitched the manipulation first, then cut the bodice piece. Planning the colour placement was important because of the ombré effect.If you prefer something cleaner, you could easily stitch on ribbon, braid, sequins, or other trims instead. You do not have to cut and fray like I did.
• Sleeve variation
  Instead of the original sleeve, I shortened and opened the sleeve pattern into a fluttery frill shape. The frill gives a bit of width in the shoulders which I like to balance out my hips. You still feel like you have a sleeve, but it is not overly sleeve-y – perfect for the lovely warm night.  If you like this sleeve option – make sure you let me know HERE , we could absolutely add this as a little sleeve hack add on pattern. A longer winter sleeve would be beautiful too, imagine this shape in a lightweight corduroy alll snug and warm, but still with the flattering shape.
• Skirt tiers and length
  Rather than using the bottom tier as drafted, I ignored that pattern piece and lengthened the top two tiers instead. I added roughly 20 cm to the top tier and another 20 cm to the second tier at the front. At the back, I added closer to 40 cm to create a subtle high-low effect. I had another dress whose length I loved, so I used that as my guide. I also had extra width of fabric available and decided to use it all. When I attached the lower tier, it was far too puffy for the look I wanted. So I unpicked it and removed width at the sides. That meant I lost the beautiful graduated hem and ended up with a shorter front and longer back. Slightly less sculpted than I imagined. A bit of a flop but I went with it anyway 🤪

So. Did it turn out exactly as planned? Not perfectly. Did anyone care? Not even a tiny bit. And that is your reminder to keep stitching and creating and experimenting anyway 💃\

How this pattern is made for flattering fit and then remixing and experimenting 🔄

I love a pattern that gives you freedom.

With NTUA you can go:

• Day dress in cotton or linen

• Dressy and sheer in silk chiffon

• Make it Full length for a formal version ✨

• Longer sleeves for winter (imagine it in a lightweight corduroy… yes please) I’m working on the new long puffy sleeve option as a pattern add on. So the base pattern becomes modular, and has even more iterations available!

You can add trims, take trims away, change the neckline, simplify the skirt into fewer panels, or lean hard into tiers and volume. There is no “right” version. There is just the one you want to wear.

Want to make one?

The Never Tear Us Apart Dress PDF Pattern is available on our website, by our in house pattern label We Who Stitch 🧵✨

If you make it, tag us @loom_fabrics, @wewhostitch or send a pic to lovesewing@loomfabrics. I can’t wait to see your version. 🤩