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Pattern with more than 5 reviews!
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Your dress doesn't look frumpy at all! I like it very much and think it looks very nice on you. This pattern is in my stash and your review makes me anxious to try it!
5/31/03 4:56 AM
Thanks, Sammie! You encourage me! I think I was hoping I'd look nice and thin, like the drawing on the envelope. I know better, but the illusion (what Mini calls 'a combination of artful fashion illustration and wishful thinking' ) still stirs up irrational expectations from time to time...;)
5/31/03 9:43 AM
Oh, sympathy... they do stir up irrational expectations, for sure... I think this is a pretty dress ("not the most fashion-forward thing in the pattern catalog", perhaps, as I think I remember you writing about a split-skirt pattern which I then went out and bought) but pretty and useful. Rayon batiks would be great. In the picture, at least, the bias is a very attractive detail.
5/31/03 9:55 AM
Okay, so maybe it's a lesson in *don't waste your time on crappy fabric.* It really looks like a typical RTW dress on you, definitely wearable. Chalk it up to bad fabric, not a bad pattern. Can't wait to see how the rayon batik version looks.
5/31/03 12:41 PM
I really like the bias panels, it looks good. Looks like something that could be easily picked up at Dress Barn or Fashion Bug. Cute!
5/31/03 2:39 PM
Lisa- I like your dress and jacket. You did a great salvage job- the finished product surely doesn't look like you had difficulties at all. Thanks for bringing this pattern to my attention, love the bias inset on the dress. I agree with Mary's comments on bad fabric. Keep up the good work!
5/31/03 2:59 PM
Lisa, I looked at the photo before reading your review and my first thought was "What a cute outfit!" So don't despair--it actually looks very good. I've been thinking about getting this pattern for myself. But I promised myself I would first make up some of the patterns I already have and have never used!
5/31/03 4:49 PM
Gee, thanks everyone! Perhaps my less than enthusiastic opinion of the outfit is related to the hair-pulling I did to make it presentable. I did learn some things about working with bias, though, so it was worth the time to deal with it. Regarding the cheap-o fabric: I'm working to get it all out of the stash; sometimes the mail order stuff isn't quite up to the impression created by the little swatch. If this had been on a bolt in a brick-and-mortar store, I doubt I would've bought it. ;) But it will serve its purpose! (Now I gotta get some batik rayon...)
5/31/03 5:05 PM
That set came out nice and it looks quite comfortable. I love fabric shopping online, but know the feeling of ending up with a less than perfect "bargain." yeah right... ;)
5/31/03 5:31 PM
Since my experience with buying fabrics online has been like yours, I have started to buy only when I have a swatch. I get swatches from 5 places. My DH calls them my toys 'cuz I have fun laying them all out and taping to the description sheets.
5/31/03 7:49 PM
Lisa - I think this looks really nice on you! You'll probably like it a lot better in a couple of weeks. I've noticed some things I've really had trouble making look better after a little "breathing room".
5/31/03 8:51 PM
Lisa, thank you for your honest review of both the pattern and your experience. Oh and the fabric, too! I am totally impressed with the work you did to make this work, and I think the results are very nice. As Tonya said, the bias panels are pretty. Thanks again for your time and willingness to share this with us.
6/1/03 0:07 AM
Thaks for this review, Lisa. I have this pattern, but I just cut up the fabric I had dedicated to it for another project. But I do have some rayon batik that would be scrummy! I think I'll do a muslin first, cuz I know I'm gonna need bust darts.
6/1/03 0:10 AM
Lisa, I know it is a lot to ask on a garment you made 6 years ago, but, your slide show is not working. Could you post the photo again? I am thinking of making this using Sandra Betzina's method of extending the front side seam and placing easing in the top 5 or 6 inches of the front side seam. Do you think that might work on the dress? Have you made the jacket too? I am so grateful for the review on this pattern.
2/1/09 10:31 AM
Ok, I re-linked the album; I have noticed on some of these older links the slideshow just quits working. Grumble, grumble. I made both the dress and the jacket, but the fabric was so not-drapey that it unfortunately didn't reside long in the wardrobe before I passed it along to the thrift store; I think I wore it for one season and then gave up on it. But I still have the pattern and may try it again one day...in a more cooperative fabric!
2/2/09 7:33 PM
Thanks for the review and update. I tried this pattern but ran into the same problem with the waist band. So the project has been shelved for 3 years now. Your "learning experience" is a help to me. I did pick this pattern for its conservative look and I was afraid it would be "frumpy" as you said. So your tips will come in handy when I take this off my shelf! I agree it does look like RTW. I'd love to see this again with your modifications. I am inspired! Well done!
5/28/10 6:37 PM