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?