Pattern Review: Milla Wrap Dress from Designer Stitch

TL; DR – Maybe leopard isn’t so bad? You know my trials and tribulations with the Atlas Dress. So when I saw that the Milla Dress pattern from Designer Stitch HAD MULTIPLE LENGTHS, I jumped on it. It’s almost identical to the Atlas Dress, except that it can be longer or shorter. It also has…

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 10 (!!!)

TL; DR – I really, really, really, really, really love this pattern. More knit, more Kielo. The fabric was a bit tricky because it wasn’t slippy, so it was hard to move around. I mean, it wasn’t impossible, obviously, and I still managed to finish the dress in an afternoon. This print, though. I love…

Peacock Wrap Dress, Take 5 and 6

TL; DR – Works with knits, too! In my seemingly never-ending quest to work through my knit fabric stash (that I keep adding to because ADHD so that’s why it’s never-ending lol*sob), I decided that I wanted to try out using the Peacock wrap dress pattern with knits. The only issue was securing the facing,…

Helena Wrap Dress, Take 3

TL; DR – [Insert swear words here] It’s #memademay! My goal this year was to reach for garments I’ve made that I don’t typically reach for, or haven’t reached for in a while (aka all my summer garments). I decided to reach for my green Helena wrap dress, and I was reminded how much I…

Olivia Wrap Dress, Take 2

TL; DR – I have a broad, broad back, apparently. I’m still being bombarded by the DVF Vogue wrap dress pattern re-issue, which is giving me some SERIOUS FOMO. I decided to try doing a broad back adjustment on the Olivia wrap dress to get rid of the reverse strangle. I also flared out the…

Pattern Review: Olivia Wrap Dress by Named Patterns

TL; DR – Hey, stay tape is a thing that is useful! Vogue reissued the class DVF wrap dress pattern. I have made it before (under a different name), I loved it, but now…I’m outside of its size range. All over sewing social media was example after example of the dress and I was jealous….

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 9

TL; DR – Barbiecore in full force I’m pretty sure I cut this when everyone was obsessed with the Barbie movie, and all things pink, but I’ve only gotten around to sew it now. It took less than two hours. Pretty sure I’ve got this one down as long as I remember to put the…

Pattern Review: Lilja Dress from Named Patterns

TL; DR – I so needed a woven version of the Kielo dress. I love this dress. Y’all know how much I love the Kielo wrap dress pattern. And when Named Patterns came out with the Lilja dress pattern (which can also be a pinafore or shirt), I jumped on it. And when I found…

Patter Review: Hanbok Dress by Sewing Therapy

TL; DR – Finally found a wrap dress that didn’t work for me. Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t work for you. I had the pleasure of testing the Hanbok Dress from Sewing Therapy. I used this deep, heavy silk that I got from our local buy-nothing group (I still have like 10yrds of it). I was…

Pattern Review: Cameron Wrap Dress from Sycamore Road Patterns

TL; DR – I still needs to figure out interfacing, symbols or letters for pattern sizes rule, and GIANT SLEEVES. I had the pleasure of being a tester for the Cameron Wrap Dress by Sycamore Road Patterns. I missed the deadline to get feedback in because I got stuck in Atlanta on my way home…

Atlas Wrap Dress, Take 3

TL; DR – I have a broad back! Clever patterns can be really challenging to modify! When I made my second Atlas Wrap Dress, as fantastic as it looks, I didn’t particularly like the fit. And, as I am coming to terms with my new measurements, I realized that I probably needed a different size….

Atlas Wrap Dress, Take 2

TL; DR – That went better the second time but still managed to be weird? Have you seen some of the dresses on H&M lately? Don’t you find they look a little (A LOT) like an Atlas Wrap Dress? For example: I was like, I finally don’t have to HUNT for a pattern to match…

Yet ANOTHER Kielo Wrap Dress

TL; DR I don’t really have much left to say about this pattern. Maybe next time I try the jumpsuit version. It’s almost March, and I’m only just now finally making my first garment of 2023. I had so many plans to try new patterns, use some amazing fabric I’ve accumulated, do more dopamine dressing……

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 7

TL; DR – How is it I can still make a mistake on the seventh time through? I had this black sweatshirt fabric, it’s getting cold, and I still need dresses that feel like warm hugs. So I made another Kielo dress. And somehow messed up the sleeves? The directions for the dress say to…

Pattern Review: Isca Dress by Marilla Walker

TL; DR – [insert multiple swear words here]. Some days I really hate being neurodivergent. Y’all know, if you’ve been following my sewing journey, that I love a good a) wrap dress and b) shirt dress. The Atlas wrap dress is kinda a platonic ideal for me, but when I saw the Isca Dress by…

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 6

TL; DR – OMG THIS DRESS IS THE BEST. Look, this is my 6th (!!!!) Kielo wrap dress. I don’t even remember all of the Kielo’s I’ve made at this point. I’ve made winter ones, and summer ones, and transition ones, but I haven’t made a sweater one. And now I have. I got this…

Pattern Review: Atlas Wrap Dress By Masin

TL; DR – Man, it feels good to be sewing again. I like a good, clever pattern. Jebus, how long as it been? As I said in my previous post, I spent all my time this summer printing and putting patterns together. Between changing sizes, a hectic summer of driving my daughter to work, traveling,…

Peacock Wrap Dress, Take 4

TL; DR – It’s after Memorial Day, let’s wear white. Uniqlo had their cooling sheets on super-sale a while back, and so I bought a white one, intending to make a dress out of it for summer. So I did. It’s white. It’s slippery. Also, holy crap my hair has gotten long. And, hey, look…

MOAR WRAP DRESSESSSSSSSS

TL; DR – Sometimes you just need to sew something relatively simple in gorgeous prints so that you can use sewing as therapy and finally control something ANYTHING in your life. Excuse the language, but shit’s been shitty around here lately. I hadn’t been sewing, I hadn’t been writing, I was barely making it through…

Pattern Review: Helena Wrap Dress from Just Patterns

TL; DR – Thank goodness for color photograph tutorials, but sometimes it would be nice to see the larger context rather than a close-up. Remember the green dress that inspired my Wildwood Wrap Dress? Yeah, I finally kinda have one! Since my body has changed, and my neurodivergent brain refuses to reprint and retape patterns…

Pattern Review: Peacock Wrap Dress from The Sewing Revival

TL; DR – Simple pattern, beautiful silhouette, will make again. After the visual nightmare that was trying to make the wrap dress from Takuto and ultimately giving up, I was on the prowl for a wrap dress that had the bodice and skirt attached. I also have wanted a summery yellow dress because it’s EVERYWHERE….

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 5

TL; DR – Woven is different from knit! Tracing patterns from magazines is HARD! I bought a second-hand Marimekko comforter cover and pillow cases off of eBay. I love the giant flowers and was struggling to find a pattern that worked to not spoil the motif. I initially wanted to try the Freedom wrap dress…

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 4

TL; DR – A versatile pattern ROCKS! This is my fourth Kielo Wrap Dress from Named Patterns. I had always been enamored with one sample dresses, done in a floral print. When I saw this lovely pastel violet jersey knit from Mood (ON SALE!), I knew that a) I was going to buy it and…

V8379 Take 4

There’s a reason why I called this project, “The 70s Called, They Want Their Dress Back” in my sewing Airtable. I fell in love with this fabric as soon as I saw it, and knew it had to be a DVF-style wrap dress. For the first time ever, I cut and sewed a complete garment…

Kielo Wrap Dress, Take 3

TL; DR – Hey, following directions works. Sometimes you just want to make a simple dress that feels like a warm hug. I’m still struggling with buying fabric online. I thought I was getting a nice stretch corduroy to make myself a pair of pants. Instead I got a SUPER STRETCHY “corduroy” that was more…

V8379, Take 3

TL; DR – HEY, not all knits are the same! A walking foot is a miracle! I figured out how to use a hemming foot! Feeling fancy! I had this shinny red knit ponte that I was struggling to figure out what to do with. And then, it hit me. A HOLIDAY WRAP DRESS! I…

Elodie Wrap Dress, Take 3

TL; DR – LOL MASSIVE FAIL BUT TIM GUNN WOULD BE PROUD BECAUSE IT WAS A REAL MAKE IT WORK MOMENT. You’d think that by now, the third time, it would be a charm. LOL NOPE. So, I ended up sewing the skirt together wrong, attaching the panels middle-middle-side-side instead of side-middle-middle-side. And I only…

Elodie Wrap Dress, Take 2

TL; DR – I got nothing on this one, the pattern is still great and I learned my lesson to slow down, read (and re-read) the directions. Just look at how adorable this dress is. The facing isn’t quite right on the inside, but I’m not sure what I did differently from the other Elodie…

V8379 Take Two

TL; DR – Use clips instead of pins for slippery jersey fabric, sometimes it’s ok to do the steps out of order, oh and stitch length matters! This is my second wrap dress using the classic Vogue Pattern 8379. This time around, I chose not to add a collar and did short sleeves instead of…

Pattern Review: Elodie Wrap Dress from Closet Core Patterns

TL; DR – Don’t be afraid to grade between sizes, fabric matters. The Elodie Wrap Dress from Closet Core Patterns in a another pattern that comes up again and again and again when you google “best woven wrap dress patterns”. It goes up to a size 30, the instructions are really well-done, and there is…

Pattern Review: Wildwood Wrap Dress from Sew House Seven

TL; DR – Sometimes wovens are not, in fact, easier then knits, collars remain a challenge, and if there is a video tutorial/sew-a-long WATCH IT. It started when I saw this dress from a Chinese knock-off place that was algorithmically fed to me on my FB: Anyway, it was dirt cheap but even the 3XL…

Pattern Review: Kielo Wrap Dress by Named Patterns

TL; DR – This pattern is a cult classic for a reason: it is awesome. The weather turned cold in late January 2021. I still wore dresses to “work”, learning early in the pandemic that I needed to still put on work clothes (and then take them off at the end of the day) to…

Pattern Review: V8379 by Vogue Patterns

TL; DR – Sometimes commercial patterns are really, really good. I wanted a classic DVF 70’s style wrap dress. Wrap dresses have been a bit of a fit issue for me, with a large chest and a short torso. This Vogue Pattern is a CLASSIC – everyone knows about it, and when you say “wrap…