i recently had the opportunity to test sew the latest pattern from sew liberated - the lichen duster! if you follow me online at all, you know that a large portion of my wardrobe (probably about 60%) is made up of meg’s patterns, so i was very excited to have the chance to test out her latest one.

right off the hop, i will say this - if you’re a beginner sewist, start off first with any other pattern of meg’s. the gypsum skirt is a great place to get started and build some skills, and then work your way up with the arenite pants and maybe a long-sleeved hinterland dress. advanced beginner sewists would do well to have a more experienced friend on hand to help out, and intermediate sewists should have a solid grasp on different finishing techniques and construction methods before attempting this pattern. the sewing itself is straightforward, but the actual construction is quite advanced, which results in a show-stopping piece. do yourself a favour and set aside some solid time to work on this project, and read through each section first before starting to sew it together so that you have an idea of what you need to be working on before you get your machine whirring.

i sewed a straight size 8 out of a stiff cotton, which is based off my upper body measurements and is my go-to size for meg’s dresses and tops (i typically sew a size 14 if i’m making any of her bottoms patterns - hey-o, pear shapes). you might take a quick glance at the yardage and think what? no way it needs this much, i’m sure i can cut corners somewhere.

you can’t.

this pattern uses a large amount of fabric, and that’s because you have multiple long pieces that get pieced together to create an even longer coat/wrap dress. it’s absolutely worth it, but if you’re trying to figure out options for sewing this pattern on a budget, i gotcha. here are some of my suggestions (conveniently, the first and last options are also great if you’re concerned about sustainability in your sewing practice):

use secondhand fabric! if you can’t find the required yardage in a single bolt, you can cheat it by having a patchwork-style look with the following pieces in a contrasting fabric without looking like you stepped off the set of joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat: sleeve, front gores, back gores, and belt
raid the clearance bolts at your fabric store
do what i did and use bedsheets that take a trip through your natural dye pots*

ok, that last point might have you going whaaaaaaaaa?

but that’s exactly what i did, and how i kept the cost of my fabric for this entire project under $5. here’s what i did:

i bought two queen-sized bedsheets (100% plain cotton) from the thrift store for $1.50 each
i brought them home, scoured them with synthrapol, used tara as a first tannin, and then alum for the pre-mordant
i used balsam fir branches from last year’s xmas tree plus iron to achieve the dusty purple that this coat ended up
i split the pieces up on the two sheets as per my suggestion above for contrasting fabrics, which also worked well because the cottons were slightly different and there was a visible difference between the dye results if you get up close

if you’d like to try out natural dyeing for yourself using kitchen scraps or garden compost or locally foraged materials, you can grab my ebook natural dyeing as practice, where i take you through more step-by-step rules and considerations like ethical foraging, troubleshooting issues with fresh materials versus purchased extracts, dyeing on different types of textiles, safety precautions, and more.

overall, i feel like i learned a lot during this project (the collar was the trickiest construction, but looks fucking gorgeous so it’s totally worth the brain melt for a new-to-me construction method), and i think i levelled up as a sewist. i want to make another duster, next time with lightweight boiled wool. i think it’ll result in a sexy sherlock holmes-esque vibe that’ll turn heads while keeping me toasty warm, and you can’t beat that result imo.

other notes to help you make your very own duster:

sharp blades are a necessity - i need to sharpen my rotary blades because they kept skipping with the long cuts
invest in dedicated pattern weights or just make sure you have a bunch of tuna cans or hockey pucks kicking around - again, due to the length of many of these cuts combined with dull blades, the fabric bunched up a lot which wouldn’t have been an issue with weights on top of the pattern pieces rather than pinning (my usual method, which is a lot slower and irritating tbh)
sew your back first - the piecing is straightforward and having the side seams ready to compare your front sides to will help when you’re figuring out your pocket placement (the pockets on these are a major selling point as far as i’m concerned)
be prepared to use different finishing techniques throughout the project, and know your fabric well to help you make these choices as you go

handmade wardrobe: lichen duster test for sew liberated