I Used Two Patterns To Make One Dress

For my latest Minerva project, I used two patterns to make one dress. I took the dress portion from one and added the sleeves from the other.

Pattern envelopes — Vogue 8847 & Butterick 6446

The Fabric

For this project, I was gifted this very nice, lightweight fabric. It’s called John Kaldor soft crepe and it’s 100% polyester. The fabric has a gorgeous drape and is very soft like the name says.

This fabric washes and dries really well. I love the vibrant print of it as well. It’s perfect for summer!

The Patterns

I’ve had both of these patterns since around 2012 and 2015. I l For this particular look, I wanted a bell-shaped, flowy sleeve. As the heat and humidity rises when we get into summer, there was no way I was going to make a long-sleeve dress.

The Dress

The Very Easy Vogue pattern is quite easy and quick to sew. While it wasn’t really necessary, I did pay attention to the direction of the fabric when I laid out the pattern. It’s a very loose fitting dress with gathers in the back and front yokes. There are no buttons or zippers, so you can simply pull it over your head.

The dress has inseam pockets too!

woman wearing yellow floral dress with her hands in pockets

Because the dress is very loose, the belt really helps to cinch in the waist. By the way, there were no issues with adding sleeves in from a different patten. The sleeves from the Butterick pattern fit perfectly into the Vogue dress.

Conclusion

While I am a little bit concerned about how comfortable the dress will be when the weather gets hot, I think it will be fine to wear. I am always cold in the summer when I’m indoors and the air conditioning is blasting!

I am so glad I used two patterns to make one dress. The end result is just what I had in mind.

If you’d like te see the video of this project, you can view that here.

Style Arc Olivia Dress

If you ever want a super simple, quick and easy summer dress pattern, the Style Arc Olivia dress may be the perfect one for you.

The Pattern

This is a pattern I actually got for free when I purchased other Style Arc patterns. If you aren’t familiar, Style Arc usually has a couple of choices for a specific free/bonus pattern of the month. You chose one when you’ve purchased a pattern (or patterns) from them.

As you can see from the picture above, the Olivia dress is rated Easy. Be sure to check their size chart at Style Arc if you are interested in purchasing their patterns. The sizing may be a bit different from what you are used to. Olivia is designed for woven fabrics and includes a belt pattern.

My Dress

For the dress I made, I used some fabric I purchased locally at G Street Fabrics. It’s part of the Robert Kaufman “Florence” collection and can be found here. This is basically a quilting cotton with a really pretty print. A print like this is the perfect thing to pair with a simply designed pattern. The “star” of the outfit becomes the print when there’s few details or design elements.

Back view of woman wearing Style Arc Olivia dress

This is a pattern that comes together quickly. The only change made to the pattern for this was to lengthen the bodice by about an inch. I find that often when I have dress patterns that include waistline elastic, it hits me in the rib cage which is uncomfortable for me. I might make one without this alteration just to see how it is.

One future change I will definitely make is to add pockets! Having a place to put your hands (or keys, or a tissue) is just really convenient. They are always missed when they aren’t there-I don’t know what to do with my hands.

The Style Arc Olivia dress features a scoop neck without any buttons or zippers. That’s another thing that makes this so quick and easy to make. You can just pull it over your head and that’s it!

If you’d like to see another easy spring/summer dress pattern, you can take a look at this post . This is a perfect time to start planning your wardrobe for the upcoming season. For me (and those of us in this hemisphere) that means summer.

If you’d like to check out the video review I did, here it is…

Pattern Review And Some Tips When Making White Garments

One of my end of summer makes has been these Simplicity 8056 pants. This is one of my favorite pants patterns. They are comfortable to wear and I didn’t have to do any alterations to get a good fit. This is also one of those “Amazing Fit” patterns. So, I want to provide a pattern review and some tips when making white garments.

Simplicity 8056 pattern envelope for pattern review and some tips

It doesn’t matter whether you are heading into Fall/Autumn and are thinking about winter white or heading into summer.

The Pattern

Simplicity 8056 is a pants pattern with flared leg and shorts. One of the things that I really like about this pattern is the 1″ side seams. While that may seem like a small thing, I really does make fitting the pants that much easier.

The pockets stay flat against the body (just as the envelope states). The waistband sits comfortably on the body.

What I Did

For my pants, I used a stretch cotton sateen in white that I found in my fabric stash. This was one of those pieces that I had completely forgotten about and I really have no idea how long I’ve had it. Unfortunately, I also don’t know where I purchased it from.

Like I said, there weren’t really any alterations to share with you. I have made these before in black and I love them! These are so comfortable, stylish and easy to sew.

As of this writing, the pattern is still available on the Simplicity website even though it’s from 2016.

Tips

As for the sewing tips to share, the big one is how to make your pocket lining unnoticeable. I like to use a fabric for my lining that is close to my skin color. That way it blends in with my skin and isn’t noticeable from the outside. I would guess the same could be done regardless of what your skin tone is. If you were to use white fabric, the pockets would be clearly seen by those looking at you in your snazzy new pants.

I also like to use white thread (or matching thread) when I’m doing any topstitching. I just like the look. The only time that I might do contrast stitching is if I’m making jeans. But as I said, that’s a personal choice.

Conclusion

In any case, I hope you will try this pattern or something like it. It’s a pattern I would rate as intermediate (advanced beginner). The fit is fantastic (or “amazing” for these “Amazing Fit” pants). This is a pattern that can be made from a variety of fabrics in order to give it versatility for different seasons.

Simplicity 8056

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