Hayes Dress and Set Fabric Recommendations and Inspiration
It's time for my favorite release post, the Hayes Dress and Set Fabric Recommendations. Before we begin, I'm sharing a bit of ready to wear inspiration to help imagine ways to style Hayes, and fabric types to use. See a preview below and find even more inspo on the Hayes Pinterest board here. Now, we'll talk about recommended fabrics.
First things first, you'll need a copy of the Hayes Dress and Set Pattern.
One of the things I love about Hayes is that it uses minimal notions so making it won't require too much sourcing. Here's a quick overview of what you'll need.
NOTIONS
- 1/2 YD of 1/4" Elastic - Open Back Dress
- 1 YD of 1/2" Elastic - Dress & Skirt
- Coordinating Thread
OPTIONAL NOTIONS
- A small piece of Fusible Interfacing for stabilizing the skirt pockets.
- Tailor’s Chalk for marking notches.
- Safety Pins for threading the drawstring and elastic through casings.
- A Hem Gauge to measure hems and seam allowances.
- If you are not using main fabrics, you can use ribbon for the ties. Look for something around 3/8″ (1 cm) wide.
FABRIC SOURCES
The Hayes pattern works best in light to medium weight woven fabrics. More stable fabrics like cotton will highlight the pattern's style lines and exaggerate the shape a bit while fabrics like rayon will drape more at the waist.
Recommended fabrics are rayon challis, rayon twill, block prints, cotton voile or lawn, linen, and chambray.
SOLIDS
I sewed several of the Hayes samples in solids and they're some of my favorites. Using cotton poplin, cotton lawn, or linen will make fabric easier to source and a will be a bit easier to sew than rayon. I opted for bold, bright colors with spring and summer in mind, but one of my personal samples is sewn in a solid black and it goes with everything!
YARN DYED WOVENS
Yarn dyed fabrics are having a moment and they're perfect for making the Hayes an every day dress or set. Usually found in cotton or linen fibers, yarn dyed wovens come in a variety of patterns but, can most commonly found in stripes, plaids, or gingham. Note that if you intend to match plaids, you may need a bit more yardage to compensate.
ALL THE PRINTS
I couldn't make a spring/summer dress and set without using some prints. The Hayes pattern lends itself easily to a variety of prints. Think whimsical, bold prints sewn for a set, just a top, or a simple skirt. Sew the perfect spring dress in a floral rayon for lots of drape, or choose a lightweight printed cotton block print for a dress with a bit more structure.
We've filled up our Hayes Pinterest Board with tons of fabrics if you're looking for more. See it here.
As a reminder, a few of our favorite Indie Fabric shops have offered coupon codes for you to use.
Stone Mountain Fabrics – chalkandnotch20 for 20% off through 2025
Blackbird Fabrics – CHALKNOTCH10 for 10% off through 2025
ISee Fabrics – Chalk and notch for 20% off through 2025
Surge Fabrics – chalkandnotch10 for 10% off through 2025
LA Finch Fabrics – chalkandnotch20 for 20% off through March 2026
Thanks for reading! I can't wait to see which fabrics you use for the Hayes. - Happy Sewing!
