Fabric Suggestions for the Ember Dress

The Ember Dress is a bit of a chameleon. This is a pattern that can change vibes depending on your fabric, which means it is so easy to make Ember suit your style, whatever it may be. 

What We Recommend for the Ember Dress

We recommend light- to mid-weight wovens with moderate drape, like rayon challis, cotton poplin, chambray, viscose, silk charmeuse, or linen, with no stretch, weighing 3 oz to 6 oz. That gives you a lot of options! 

When narrowing down what you want it can be helpful to think of how and where you will wear your Ember Dress. What climate do you live in? Do you want an every day garment? Something for special occasions? Would a solid fabric suit your wardrobe better or do you want to go for a print? Keep in mind that you will need a little extra for directional fabrics, or if you are trying to make a stripe or check.

The first Ember Dress I sewed up was in a bright floral cotton poplin. The bold print really makes a statement. When I wear it, it needs hardly any styling because it stands on its own.

But I knew I also wanted a solid cotton Ember Dress that I can pull out of my closet without thinking, and that would go with most any of my cardigans. So when I saw this textured dobby cotton at my local shop. Freeman’s Creative, I thought it would be perfect.

Our friends at EWE Fine Fibers have a great collection of options for Ember, with cottons, linens, rayons and blends to choose from. 

Cotton and Linen

For beginners, cotton poplin or a linen-cotton blend are great choices because they are easy to sew, drape nicely, and hold the gathers well. These fabrics will also give you a great dress for day to day wear, cool enough for spring and summer, and perfect for laying under a cardigan for fall and winter. 

You can see my view A Ember dress in a cotton poplin vs a textured cotton. The textured cotton is a bit heavier in weight, so the skirt lays a little differently. And this is also a good example of how the style of the dress can change with a solid vs a print. My floral dress gives a fun, flower power 60s vibes, while the purple dress is more woodland fairy, cozy cottage vibes. 

Meg used an Indian block print cotton for her view b dress. This kind of cotton is even lighter weight, and you can see how the drape, print, and use of lace give her Ember a very Bohemian, 90s look, emphasizing the princess seams and peasant sleeves. 

Even within the same type of fabric you can achieve a very different dress. All three of these dresses are cotton, but all of them are unique, and take Ember in a new direction. 

Silk and Rayon

Ashley’s Ember Dress was sewn with silk charmeuse, which elevates Ember to perfect for a night out or even a wedding. A fluid fabric like silk lends more drape to the sleeve, changing the silhouette to a more subtle puff sleeve and allowing for easier gathers as you pull the ties. Please note that silk is an advanced fabric. 

My black floral Ember is a washed silk. While a little less temperamental than charmeuse, it is still an advanced fabric, so if you go this route be sure to take your time. I wore this version to a wedding recently, and it was perfect. Breathable, twirly, subtle but still dressy enough. 

Meg’s floral Ember is made with rayon. This fabric works really well for the View B, long sleeve, because it holds the elastic without being stiff, and lends great drape to the puff sleeve. Rayon is a good middle ground between some easier fabrics and silk. But is still more of an intermediate fabric that requires extra care when sewing and laundering.

Lace

View B of Ember has lace inset details along the princess seam. We recommend a cotton lace, 3/8″-1/2″ wide. You can, of course, add lace to view A as well! Etsy has a great selection of vintage laces and trims, as do many local shops. Think of this as an opportunity to further express your personal style. For Meg’s she wanted to fully embrace her boho 90s style, and the addition of lace to her block print fabric, along with the more dramatic sleeve of view B definitely accomplished that.

Looking to use wider lace? Judith has a tutorial for great way to do just that.

Each Ember Dress we made is unique! And they each express a different aesthetic while being made from the same pattern. Fabric can make all the difference! Learn more about bust adjustments for Ember, sewing a smooth v-neck, and raising the Ember neckline.