Bora Dress Pattern Release

 THE BORA SEWING PATTERN HAS ARRIVED!

Meet our latest: The Bora Dress! Designing woven dresses is my favorite, and it seems you love them just as much. The Bora is the kind of dress that works from a summer wedding to a weekend farmers market, and it lets your fabric truly be the star. A large-scale print is stunning in this silhouette, and I'm especially obsessed with how a bias-cut stripe adds visual interest. I wore a polka dot Bora dress to my son's graduation party this month, which means it already holds a special place in my heart. I hope you get to make your own special version. Let's dig into everything: views, fabrics, fitting tips, and all the details that make Bora worth the make!

The Bora Pattern will be on SALE through
Tuesday, June 30th
No coupon code is needed!

SHOP THE BORA HERE

Bora View A Sleeves - Long Length, cut on the bias || Carnival Stripe in Desert Rose from Blackbird Fabrics.

Bora View B Tank - Short Length, cut on the straight || Stonewashed Linen from Fluid + Drape

Bora View A Sleeves - Long Length, cut on the straight || Designer Deadstock Swiss Dot from StoneMountain Fabrics

Bora View B Tank - Long Length, cut on the straight || Butterscotch Dot Floral Crepe from Lyrical Fabric

PATTERN DETAILS

Bora is a woven dress with two views. Each features a scooped subtle V-neck, fitted bodice, A-line skirt, and center back invisible zipper.

Bora View A Sleeves - Long Length, cut on the bias || Soft Washed Linen from Blackbird Fabrics

Princess seams and an empire waistline allow for shaping and easy color blocking or playing with stripes. The skirt pieces can be cut on the straight grain or on the bias for a bit more movement. 

Bora View B Tank - Short Length, cut on the bias  || Yard Dyed Cotton Linen from Blackbird Fabrics

View A features puff sleeves gathered at the shoulder and elbow with an optional back tie. View B is a sleeveless tank and has a wide scoop back.

Bora View A Sleeves - Long Length, cut on the straight || Jumbo Polka Rayon Crepe from Lyrical Fabric

The Bora pattern is listed as an INTERMEDIATE sewing level. The most difficult parts of sewing the pattern are inserting the invisible zipper and sewing the fully lined bodice. If you are a beginner, I recommend using a stable woven fabric and cutting the skirt pieces on the straight grain. 

Included in the written tutorial are step-by-step illustrated instructions to guide you along the way. If you would like more help, the Chalk and Notch Facebook Group is a great place to get support. Many of our testers are members there, so you have great resources if you need them. 

We'll have a photo sew-along posted soon, along with a few videos for any tricky parts. Whether this is your first pattern or you have set dozens of invisible zippers, we want to provide you with all of the resources you need. 

Bora View A Sleeves - Short Length, cut on the bias || Yard Dyed Cotton Linen from Blackbird Fabrics

Bora Size Chart: Available in Sizes 0 – 30, with four bust cup options

This style is designed to have a fitted bodice and an A-line skirt. Use the high bust and full bust measurements to determine your size. If your waist and hips put you in a larger size, consider blending sizes to allow a for a custom fit. 

We highly recommend fitting a toile of the bodice to confirm fit before sewing the full dress.

Reference the finished garment measurements and ease recommendations for more detailed fit information.

Bora View A Tank - Long Length, cut on the straight || Jumbo Polka Rayon Crepe from Lyrical Fabric

Garment Ease & Finished Length

Bora is designed to have a fitted bodice and an A-line skirt. There is no ease included through the bust. There is 3” (7.5 cm) of ease in the waist. There is 4” (10 cm) of ease in the hips. When sewing the bias skirt option, there will be less ease in the waist and hips due to the drape of the bias fabric.

The bodice finishes right under the bust, and the pattern is fitted until just above the waist, continuing with an A-line shape to the hem. The puff sleeves finish at the elbows, with adjustable elastic at the shoulders and elbows. The finished length of the full-length dress ends above the ankle. The finished length of the short dress ends above the knee. Review the finished garment measurements from under the arm at the side seam to hem to determine if you would like to adjust the length.

CUSTOM-FITTING ADJUSTMENTS

All our patterns include basic custom fitting adjustments, but you can find more detailed adjustments and fitting advice in our fitting post here. For this pattern, it's especially important to make a toile or test fit the bodice before continuing with precious fabric. If you need additional help or have questions, please feel free to email me or join the Chalk and Notch Patterns Facebook Group – I’m always happy to hear from you!

FABRIC & NOTIONS

Main Fabric

This style is designed for a light to medium weight woven. The bodice, sleeve, and hem are lined. You can use your main fabric or a medium weight fabric for the bodice lining. A light to medium weight sleeve lining fabric can help reduce bulk.

Throughout this post, we have linked to all of the fabrics used during release, but we also have a blog post with more fabric resources here.

Recommended Main Fabrics

Rayon Challis, Rayon Twill, Rayon Voile, Cotton Lawn, Cotton Voile, Linen, and Chambray. More info on fabric recommendations is available on our Bora Pinterest Board here.

Fabric Chart

The minimum fabric required is listed for both cutting the skirt pieces on the straight grain and on the bias. If you think you'll need more for shrinkage, directional prints, pattern matching, or pattern repeat, please purchase accordingly.

You can use main or lining fabric for the bodice lining, sleeve lining, and hem facing. The lining fabric chart is in addition to the main fabric listed.

Notions

Fusible interfacing and an invisible zipper are required for all views of the Bora. The 1/4" (0.6 cm) elastic is for sewing view A. 

• 2 yds (1.8 m) Tricot Fusible Interfacing
• 18" (45 cm) Invisible Zipper for sizes 0-18 or 20" Invisible Zipper for sizes 20-30.
  
• 2 yds (1.8 m) of 1/4" (0.6 cm) Elastic for View A (see cut chart on page 7 of pattern tutorial)
• Invisible Zipper Foot 
• Safety Pins

Optional Notions

• A Hook & Eye is a nice addition above the zipper stop.
• Tailor’s Chalk or a Washable Fabric Marking Pen for marking the zipper placement.
  
• A Pressing Ham is helpful when pressing the curved bust seams.
  
• Point Turning Tool and Turning Tool when sewing the optional back tie. 

TESTER PHOTOS

Testing a pattern and getting feedback from our sewing community members is always a highlight of the development process. Our Bora Pattern Testers were thorough, helpful, incredibly kind, and sewed beautiful versions of the pattern. While styled photos are never required when testing, we love sharing any photos submitted. Seeing a pattern on a variety of people and in different fabrics can be a valuable tool. You can find our tester post here.

I’d love to see what you come up with, so if you share your makes, please tag @chalkandnotch and use the hashtags #cnbora and #chalkandnotchpatterns so I can see your creations.

Thanks for reading all about the Bora Dress sewing pattern!