Double knit, double duty
When I was shopping for my next round of Cali  & Co posts, I came across this lovely textured double knit and just kept coming back to it again and again.  That was a sure sign it needed to be in my cart!
It’s a dramatic fabric, so I decided to pair it with a correspondingly simple pattern — the new True Bias Lodo Dress.  This is a simple knit sheath with a slight cocoon shape.  It calls for a heavier knit without a ton of stretch, perfect for Cali Fabric’s wide variety of double knits!
With a gorgeous textured fabric like this, my mind automatically jumps to evening or office wear — something to dress up with a nice necklace and pumps.  But beautiful fabrics like this shouldn’t always be relegated to the dark!  So today I wanted to show how what seems like a “fancy” fabric can dress up and down when paired with a nice, simple shape.
First, my Lodo dress is very easy to dress up for date night, the ballet, or even for the office:
But it’s equally great paired with simple flats, a fun hat and a chambray shirt for a weekend running errands with kids in tow:
And the great thing about double knit is that is has all the comfort and wearability of knits but is easy to sew like wovens. Â It works equally well with either a serger or sewing machine — in fact, I sewed almost this entire dress on my sewing machine! Â The serger touched the center back seam, and that is it.
Cali Fabrics has a nice selection of double knits, so take a look for your next casual, or not-so-casual dress project!
LOVE THIS!
Yep! I’ve had my eye on that double knit too!
I love both looks! Clearly, I need more double knits 🙂