I will test every pattern Joann comes up with. You know when there’s a maker that you just sync with? Like Marrimeko, or Alexander Henry prints, or that aisle in Target that makes you spend an extra $40…Joann comes up with designs either I’ve been dreaming about or I didn’t know I wanted until I saw it. Between that and knowing already she puts out a good product, I’m forever a fan.
The Brooke Cami & Dress pattern test was in June, and I tell you that because it’s a testament to Joann’s quality that it didn’t come out until now. She kept tinkering with it before releasing to make it perfect.
I also really love Pipe Dream because her base block is a C/D cup, and so am I… so for once I don’t have to do a FBA, and haven’t had to do a swayback adjustment either! YAY!!!! I am taller though, and still have to add height, but that’s a lot easier than height + swayback+FBA.
I added in 2 inches, dropped the dart an inch, and then took an inch off the front & back straps to pull the top up a bit tighter and get the waistline to my natural waist. So…in the end, added an inch in length and slightly redistributed where it all lands. Very minor alterations considering it’s a close fitting wrap dress made of woven fabric.
The back dart point was just moved down the 2 inches I added.
Here’s a fit with the height and dart adjustments but before the length taken back out of the straps…a bit too boobylicious for me, but this could work for you. I’m just too old/momlyfe to be running so low:
As you can see, it’s also below my natural waist which would have made for weird bunching up on my hips. This is all MY doing to add my height difference, NOT the pattern, mind you. If you hit the 5’6” range of the block, then you’re fine. I’m putting this in here because I’ve seen quite a few dresses lately out in the world, and there’s some bodice wrinkles because the waist isn’t hitting where it should on the natural waistline. If you’re getting bunching up, you’ve got too much length in there and it really should be removed. It’s really glaring when it makes a back zip buckle.
Here’s my fix, which happen to double as a boob-flash fix. If I wasn’t making my top more modest, I would have had to take an inch back out of my over-zealous bodice lengthening. Ignore the seemingly gaping armscye – that’s because of how I’m holding it and the bias tape hasn’t been applied.
And there it is, back at my natural waist and less flashy. This is, again, pre-bias tape application. The brilliance of the bias tape in this pattern – gah. It’s just really quite smart….
Here are some shots of it on my dress form, and you can see how, after the bias tape is applied, it hugs across the bust, the back, and under the arm, so you don’t have any embarrassing gaping:
I used this floral rayon I picked up at the Colette Patterns sample sale, and while this pattern takes a lot of bias tape, especially if you make the dress with the double ruffle like I did, it’s really not so bad. Seriously. I just did the continuous bias tape method, twice, and spent some time getting it all ironed and rolled up. The bias tape also has the added bonus of making the straps wide enough to cover the straps of my thickest-strapped bra.
The bias also keeps the slightly-curved back snug to the skin and there’s no dress-strap-slippage.
(can you tell I’m a fan of bias tape? It’s so secretly magical)
I don’t know if you have experience with wrap-tops or dresses, especially the woven sort, but gaping is a real concern. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re all chic and sophisticated in a delicate wrap, while the whole time, you’re flashing the entire office. Yeah. Speaking from experience.
The bonus part of this pattern, which I have not yet made, is the cami option. I didn’t make it on purpose. I don’t have a lot of occasion to wear fancy dresses, so I made this dress as an option for Frocktails…before I realized I’d be running around WAY too much and moving tables & boxes to pretend I’m even lady-like enough to get away the entire evening without making a hot mess of it all. SO…I have a dress to wear if you’re getting married or having a party! I also knew I’d make the cami this fall/winter as a layering option anyway. One can never have too many layering options in the PNW.
So, there you go. I’ve also made Pipe Dream’s new overalls pattern, but need to get some better shots of it. It’s comfy.
I’m really into Pipe Dream, Seamwork+Colette is having a KILLER run lately (which reminds me, I should do a Design Your Wardrobe update), SewHouse7, and I always love Papercut’s stuff. Tuesday Stitches just leaked a peak of her new leggings pattern on IG which have me all excited too…
Got any go-to companies, patterns or otherwise, that have your number dialed in?