Hi
While I am still trying to get finished with other projects, I want to post my findings from my recent pattern wardrobe boost for casual clothes. I love wearing the fancy materials, but let's face it, I'm not going to be wearing shantung and silk around the house. Normally when I get up in the morning I will grab something made of cotton and most likely elastic in the waist. If it's a dress it will be something to just throw on over my head and no thought about how it looks.
My idea for this little challenge came to me when I started trying to catalog my pattern stash. I realized that I had purchased some patterns while I was at Walmart. In case you didn't know, Walmart carries just about everything and you can get it at a reasonable price. Me, I like reasonable prices and Walmart is my store for low prices and sales for just about anything that I could want or need. Which leads me to the patterns that I have chosen to boost my wardrobe with.
In giving my reviews, I want to be as candid as I can about them that way you won't feel like you've wasted $2.00 on a pattern that really isn't well thought out or won't produce a good garment. When I first started back sewing, Walmart was my pattern store. I didn't want to go to Hancock's because I didn't think that I would be sewing as much as I am now and I also didn't think that I had the skills to stand around in a specialty store with all those experienced sewers and creative thinkers. Little did I know that those specialty stores (Hancock Fabric and Joann's) would be just what the dr. ordered for my low skilled self-esteem. But Wally World was still on the top of my list for patterns that I couldn't find at one of the specialty stores. Fabrics that I wouldn't let myself buy in Hancock's or Joann's, I could and often times did buy at Walmart.
Today's pattern is just a casual dress that was purchased from Walmart. For some strange reason, it had an appeal to me that just spoke "casual". I liked the cover photo and thought that it would make a good "mommy" dress for school meetings or just running around town. It's Sew Easy 2120 is about as low key as a garment can get, but I could also see that it had the potential for a little more.
Here is the dress made with a ponte knit. I wasn't too pleased at first because Sara has a way of either making things look too good or not good at all. I couldn't see how nice it was until I placed a small belt around the waist.
Now, this dress is more along the lines of what I'm looking for in a casual aspect. I would feel totally comfortable with the dress at church, a school meeting, or just beating about town. I've tried to find this dress with some other sewing bloggers, but Tanya Today was the only one that I could find that seemed to have any results for this dress. I loved how her dress turned out and she even says that it was her first completed garment. Yay, Tanya!!
I made my sleeves a little different from the pattern because I wanted something different. I sometimes change things when I'm going my own way.
I have a cute little neck band that actually looks like a rolled band, but I trimmed the seams, pressed really good, then stitched about 1/4" from the seam line.
This is the back. The pattern called for a seam down the middle of the front and the back, but I only kept the seam in the back. Since I am a pocket person, I'm thinking that pockets would have gone great with this one.
The Review
Pattern Description: Misses dress with scarf
Pattern Sizing: 10-18
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked this pattern for it's simplistic values, 2 main pieces and 2 bindings.
Fabric Used: Ponte knit.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made a single piece out of the front so that I wouldn't have a seam in the front. I changed the sleeves to have a stitched line part the way instead of an overlap look. I slimmed the hips to make the bottom more straight. I used a 1/4" seam to add more flare to the neckline and sleeves.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes. I think I will try the shantung that I had for this dress. Yes. I think this is a good first pattern.
Conclusion: This is really a good pattern for beginners and a good pattern for more advanced sewers who want a quick pic-me-up. I think this dress could be made with a lot of different fabrics and turn out different with each different one. I chose not to have a middle seam in the front, but a fabric with more drape would make the seam almost invisible. By grading the hipline down I made the dress more straight and that was because the ponte knit was a little stiffer than a satin or challis. Fabrics with more drape would make the flared hem look more subtle and give the dress a fancier look. I hope to remake this one again because I really love and easy pattern. If you don't have this pattern,,,,,try it and put your own spin to it.
Well, that's it for this post. Thank you for joining me today.. Until next time,
Lots of Love
Dellia
While I am still trying to get finished with other projects, I want to post my findings from my recent pattern wardrobe boost for casual clothes. I love wearing the fancy materials, but let's face it, I'm not going to be wearing shantung and silk around the house. Normally when I get up in the morning I will grab something made of cotton and most likely elastic in the waist. If it's a dress it will be something to just throw on over my head and no thought about how it looks.
My idea for this little challenge came to me when I started trying to catalog my pattern stash. I realized that I had purchased some patterns while I was at Walmart. In case you didn't know, Walmart carries just about everything and you can get it at a reasonable price. Me, I like reasonable prices and Walmart is my store for low prices and sales for just about anything that I could want or need. Which leads me to the patterns that I have chosen to boost my wardrobe with.
In giving my reviews, I want to be as candid as I can about them that way you won't feel like you've wasted $2.00 on a pattern that really isn't well thought out or won't produce a good garment. When I first started back sewing, Walmart was my pattern store. I didn't want to go to Hancock's because I didn't think that I would be sewing as much as I am now and I also didn't think that I had the skills to stand around in a specialty store with all those experienced sewers and creative thinkers. Little did I know that those specialty stores (Hancock Fabric and Joann's) would be just what the dr. ordered for my low skilled self-esteem. But Wally World was still on the top of my list for patterns that I couldn't find at one of the specialty stores. Fabrics that I wouldn't let myself buy in Hancock's or Joann's, I could and often times did buy at Walmart.
Today's pattern is just a casual dress that was purchased from Walmart. For some strange reason, it had an appeal to me that just spoke "casual". I liked the cover photo and thought that it would make a good "mommy" dress for school meetings or just running around town. It's Sew Easy 2120 is about as low key as a garment can get, but I could also see that it had the potential for a little more.
The Review
Pattern Description: Misses dress with scarf
Pattern Sizing: 10-18
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.
Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked this pattern for it's simplistic values, 2 main pieces and 2 bindings.
Fabric Used: Ponte knit.
Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I made a single piece out of the front so that I wouldn't have a seam in the front. I changed the sleeves to have a stitched line part the way instead of an overlap look. I slimmed the hips to make the bottom more straight. I used a 1/4" seam to add more flare to the neckline and sleeves.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes. I think I will try the shantung that I had for this dress. Yes. I think this is a good first pattern.
Conclusion: This is really a good pattern for beginners and a good pattern for more advanced sewers who want a quick pic-me-up. I think this dress could be made with a lot of different fabrics and turn out different with each different one. I chose not to have a middle seam in the front, but a fabric with more drape would make the seam almost invisible. By grading the hipline down I made the dress more straight and that was because the ponte knit was a little stiffer than a satin or challis. Fabrics with more drape would make the flared hem look more subtle and give the dress a fancier look. I hope to remake this one again because I really love and easy pattern. If you don't have this pattern,,,,,try it and put your own spin to it.
Well, that's it for this post. Thank you for joining me today.. Until next time,
Lots of Love
Dellia
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