TL; DR – Can a pattern be a simple beginner pattern and super-tricky at the same time? YES IT CAN APPARENTLY.
I’ve been wanting a one-piece (ie – not a separate bodice and skirt) shirt dress that flairs out FOREVER. When Mood put out their Rosalie Shirt Dress pattern, I downloaded it right away and was waiting for the right fabric to make this dress out of. And, I had this Katie Kortman fabric that was PERFECT for the dress.
The dress, in theory, should be pretty straightforward to make – no yoke, no aligning skirt and bodice pieces, one simple dart, etc. AND YET. If I hadn’t made a shirt dress before, I might have been stumped, particularly with the front button plackets (which I made with snaps instead because who has time for that many button holes?). It didn’t indicate right-sides together when adding the plackets, nor did it indicate that YOU DO THE SAME THING ON BOTH SIDES. It also didn’t indicate how to neatly finish the placket at the bottom.
I also used the trusty Alternative Method for Sewing a Shirt Collar from Closet Core because it just makes sense to me.
Anyway. I am definitely making this pattern again, and maybe I’ll try a sew-a-long? I don’t have the set up, nor the experience, but hey, why not?
I’m a beginner and this ended up on my list as well – glad to have some insight from your review! it might end up a little lower on my list until I have more experience with shirts.
Oh my gosh! I’m an experienced sewer and I had SUCH a time with this dress! The instructions were basically non existent so I had to look up YouTube videos to help with the collar, placket, etc. It’s still not done! I’m sure it will be cute eventually but I had to shove it in a drawer for a few months until I was ready to try again.
It’s worth it once it’s done! And, once you’ve done it once, it goes better the second time. And I always have to look at a tutorial for the collar, no matter the pattern!