The Little Honey Dress is finished! To save time, I've copied my review from Pattern Review here instead of writing another different post. In a day or so, I'll add pictures of Emily wearing the dress.
Pattern Description:
Oliver+S Jump Rope Dress Pattern
Shirtwaist dress features rounded collar and front placket detail. View A includes short sleeves with folded cuff and sleeve tab, slightly dropped waist, patch pockets, and self sash with belt loops. View B features long-sleeves with folded cuffs, A-line shaping, and gathered bias-trimmed patch pockets. I sewed view A.
Pattern Sizing:
Sizes 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 all in one envelope. Smaller sizes are also available. I made a size 5 and found the fit to be true to size.
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Inspired by a blouse on the cover of a recent Ottobre magazine, I decided to add a ruffle to the center front of the dress. Otherwise, my finished garment looks like the pattern.
Were the instructions easy to follow?
Excellent instructions! The front placket instructions in particular are very well-written and have clear illustrations. I've not had good success with this advanced type of placket, but by following the instructions my placket came out great. I'll refer to these instructions next time I sew this type of placket.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I love the front placket.
I love the dropped waist.
I love the many details in this pattern---the top stitching, the belt loops, the sleeve tabs, the pocket flaps, the sash, and the sweet little collar that rolls so nicely even without a separate collar stand.
I love the ruffle I added to the center front.
I love the way the found-in-my-stash purple buttons match the center of the flowers on the fabric.
I love the voile fabric I used. Lovely stuff, really, yummy, yummy voile from designer Anna Maria Horner.
I love the classic lines of this pattern.
Fabric Used:
Two coordinating prints of cotton voile from Anna Maria Horner. Did I mention how lovely this voile is?!!
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Only 2 changes: I added a ruffle to the front of the dress, and I lined the skirt with white voile. There will be no searching for the always-lost slip with this dress...it has its own built-in slip.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, and yes! My Emily wears a size 5, and the pattern goes up to a size 8. Yup, I'll be making it again!
Conclusion:
This is a sweet little pattern with a timeless, classic style.
I have enjoyed sewing this dress, and I can't wait to show you the pictures of Emily wearing it.
Yesterday I started sewing the dress that I'm calling the "Little Honey Dress." The main fabric is called "little honey" and I hope it's going to be one honey of a dress for my little 5 year old honey. :) (Yes, I'm being goofy, but hey, that's okay, right?) The coordinating fabric is "village path" and both fabrics are cotton voile, made by Anna Maria Horner.
I love the ruffle on the Ottobre blouse, but instead of turning the blouse pattern into a dress, I decided to just add the ruffle to another pattern, the Jump Rope dress pattern by Oliver+S.
I didn't make much progress on the dress yesterday, but I started the placket. Because I've never sewn this type of placket ever before, I decided to take pictures of my progress in case it may be of help to somebody else. At first, I thought the placket would be confusing and complicated; but I followed the instructions step-by-step and it really wasn't difficult at all. So---here are the pictures:
Bodice Front: Placket placement; the bodice front is not cut open until after the placket pieces are sewn in place. This picture shows the markings that are to be placed at the center front of the bodices.
Ruffle Pieces: sewn, turned, pressed, gathered, and then basted to the center front. The ruffles were cut on the bias.
Placket Pieces: The ruffles are sandwiched between the bodice front and the placket pieces. The plackets pieces are sewn to the bodice and then the center front is cut opened.
I didn't have time to finish pressing and sewing everything in place, but this last picture gives you an idea of what the dress front will look like. I can't wait to get back to it!
More pictures at this Flickr set.
