We can't believe it's November already! This year has flown by, and it's officially the start of holiday season so we are offering the ultimate party dress to celebrate. Moonlight is a dress made for dancing, eating, and having fun! A super simple sew and the perfect canvas for special fabrics, we think you'll enjoy making it as much as you'll enjoy wearing it. We are also offering some bonus collar options so you can personalize Moonlight to your heart's content! This simple shift is somehow both vintage and modern and we just LOVE the way it looks in a huge variety of fabrics... let's get into the details.
Join Crew starting at $10 USD a month to get Moonlight in sizes 0-32!
The Design
Ironically, Moonlight was the first design we drafted for Crew! We had planned on launching it with Crew LAST November as a New Year's dress, only to realize that our big launch was going to be a little late to ring in 2023. The silhouette is inspired by a vintage inspired shift dress I made wayyyyy back in 2013. This dress has continued to be one of my favourite "fancy" looks for going on over ten years – I have worn it to countless weddings, cocktail parties, and celebrations. While we obviously started our draft from scratch, I was excited to design our own simple yet elegant shift dress that you'll hopefully pull out for the next ten years or more! It's timeless and perfect, and we can't imagine a better pattern for all the Thanksgiving/ office party/ Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa hubbub in your life this season.
Gently skimming the body and ending above the knee (although feel free to hem it into a mini!), the bodice is shaped with angled bust darts. A round, high neckline in the front is contrasted by a head-turning deep V in the back, along with optional inseam pockets (#ithaspockets!) We've also given you two sleeve options: short, or elbow length.
Best of all? This pattern can be finished with your choice of lining or facing! We've also included two "bonus" collar options with round or pointed corners if you'd like to add a structural and vintage-inspired detail to your Moonlight. We'll be sharing lots of inspirational content for those collars in Crew this month, including details on Justine's adorable bee embroidery.
With simple style lines and a classic silhouette, Moonlight is the perfect opportunity to use those special fabrics like sequins, leather, velvet, lace, and brocades you may have hiding in your stash.
Moonlight is available as a PDF pattern in both our 0-20 and 14-32 size ranges - you always get both with your monthly download!
Moonlight Design Story
Still have questions? Learn more about the design of Moonlight as I walk you through all the design features in the video below.
Suggested Fabrics
This pattern can be made with a variety of fabrics depending on the desired effect. For a more structured shape, use light to heavy-weight wovens such as linen, cotton, twill, brocade, jacquard, and fancy fabrics like velvet, lace, and sequins. For a drapier effect, try rayon challis, viscose, or silk.
Core Fabrics has put together kits for Moonlight in the sample fabrics we used and they will include all the notions and thread you need to make this project a hole-in-one.
We are also introducing a standing discount at Core Fabrics for Unlimited members! Get 15% off any order of fabric, notions, tools or kits in the shop for as long as you are a member. Now is the time to join and get all the fabric you need to make our back catalogue of patterns!
How to Get Moonlight
Like all Crew patterns, Moonlight is only available when you sign up for Crew! Subscribe at the monthly level with Essential or Plus to get it (you can cancel at any time), or sign up for our annual Unlimited plan and get Graphite along with the other 10 Crew patterns we've released this year so far, plus 11 more months of patterns! So many patterns!
(Please note that if you are signing up after November 2023, you'll only be able to access Moonlight at the Unlimited level).
This Month in Crew
With a Crew membership, you get access to so much more than just a pattern. Each month, we curate a theme page with an inspiration board and curated resources to help you assemble your pattern. You also get access to our private forum, whether you're looking for fitting or sewing help, or just want to chat about sewing with like-minded folks.
For Plus and Unlimited members this month we have an exclusive fit clinic with fitting expert Gabby Brown where we talk in depth about fitting basics and dissect some reader-submitted fitting problems. For our live event, we are getting into the holiday spirit and sharing our favourite family recipes. Heather will also be doing a GMA-style pierogi-making demonstration using her Nana's recipe – it should be a cozy hang, please join us!
We're so excited to see what you do with #ClosetCoreMoonlight! Join today to get sewing!
