Anza Dress & Janie Dress // Pattern Review

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Hello, hello!

Yesterday I shared all about the fabrics I used to make these dresses for my daughter and I, today I want to share my thoughts on the patterns I used!

Anza Dress - Pattern Review // Sewing For Women

For my dress, I used the Anza Dress by Itch To Stitch. (Affiliate Links) I was so excited to finally use a dress/shirt pattern by this designer. I tested her Tierras Woven Joggers pattern, but hadn't had a chance yet to try a non-bottoms pattern. I am so so happy with how well this dress fits and now am super excited to sew up a slew of her other patterns.

This pattern also comes with a jumpsuit option as well as the dress.

Her sizing seems to be pretty much perfect for my body shape, I fell into a straight size 4. I made a quick muslin of the bodice, because I had a hunch that I might need to shorten it some. I am quite short waisted, and it turned out that my hunch was correct. I shortened the bodice by a whole inch to get the waist line to hit at my natural waist.

I also wanted to explore the possibility of a sway back adjustment. I have a few elastic waist dresses and in each one, I have fabric pooling at my center back. The Southport Dress I made here, has this issue and I'm so happy to have figured out a solution before I make the next one!

Ok, so back to the adjustment I made. It was serendipitous, because the morning that I was cutting out this dress, I happened to have the TV turned on to a DIY channel and Sewing With Nancy came on. And lo and behold, she was talking fitting adjustments! And yep. She showed how to do a sway back adjustment with a pivot and slide method. It was meant to be. I used her method to do a 1/2 inch sway back adjustment at the center back neck line and it was perfection. (You can watch the episode HERE - the swayback portion is around the 13 minute mark)

You can see there is still a little bit of blousing at the center back, but I am totally okay with that because I still want to be able to move. :) If I make it in a drapier fabric, I might do another 1/4 inch adjustment or so.

The pattern is drafted for a height of about 5'6". I am 5'3", so I also took an inch out of the skirt length, overall, shortening the dress by 2 inches.

I also made a couple of cosmetic changes to the dress. I was going for a bit more of a chambray shirt-dress look. The most obvious change I made, was the pocket shape. I just played a little bit of pocket origami with the pattern pieces and folded until I had the shape I was after. I also used denim topstitching thread to accent the seams, and topstitched in a few extra places as well.

Also, poooockettts!!

I made a separate sash to tie around my waist, rather than the included drawstring. This was super easy to achieve, I just sewed a long rectangle with 45 degree angled ends. I did use interfacing for the sash to give it more structure. I don't have any photos without, but the dress is still cute even without the sash, and I can see myself going without it on a hot day, chasing my kiddos around the park.

I absolutely love the design of this dress and am so super happy with how it turned out!! The sewing was not difficult, but not a super fast sew either. I found it to be very theraputic and had so much fun paying attention to the details.

Janie Dress - Pattern Review // Sewing For Girls

Next up is the Janie Dress by Mouse House Creations. (Affiliate Links) I knew right from the very beginning planning stages of this project, this pattern needed to be married with this fabric. And boy was I right!

This pattern comes with many options to create a variety of different tops and dresses. From short to long sleeves, Peter Pan collar, cowl neck, circle or gathered skirt, dress or peplum top. And a GREAT size range, 6mo - 12yr. I feel like I need to make a 6mo size just for the squeal factor of the teeny tiny cuteness! No, I'm not willing to have my own 6mo old again. :)

My favorite is of course the options I made, ballet scooped back neck line, short sleeves, dress length circle skirt. It's simple, yet special, and really allows a great fabric to shine!

The construction is really almost as simple as a basic tee shirt. But of course, there is the small detail of hemming a not-so-small circle skirt... Haha! The pattern is drafted well, and includes notches which makes it super easy to get everything matched up evenly for a beautiful result. I also added the suggested clear elastic to the waist to prevent the waistline from getting stretched out.

She loves her new dress! With that twirl factor though, what girl wouldn't?!

Thanks so much for reading! We love our new summer dresses!

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

InBlue Art Gallery Fabrics Tour // Apparel Sewing

Happy Tuesday everyone!!

I am thrilled to be able to join the INblue Fabric Tour, featuring the new line for Art Gallery Fabrics, designed by Katarina Roccella.

Blog Disclosure: This blog post was sponsored by Art Gallery Fabrics. All opinions are my own.

Make sure to scroll all the way to end for the tour schedule and a rafflecopter giveaway!!

When I was asked to be a part of this fabric tour, I certainly didn't have to spend any time considering it. I mean with a line named INblue!? Of course I was in!! There were many cute prints to consider, but ultimately I went with my heart (ie. florals, solids, stripes, dots), and chose THIS lightweight denim for my dress. And of course I had to choose some of the yummy, delicious, AGF knit (THIS Bloesem Dark) for my girl.

When considering Art Gallery Fabrics, one always knows that whatever the substrate, it will be quality! I had never worked with AGF denim before, but I certainly was not disappointed!! This fabric washed up beautifully in the prewash, and was minimally wrinkled, even out of the dryer. I did not notice any significant shrinkage. It was a dream to cut and sew. I love that it is denim, so using it for a dress, means it has some structure and is completely opaque, but still lightweight and breathable and has great drape.

I was after a chambray shirt-dress look with this project and chose to use denim topstitching thread on most of the seams. The fabric held up perfectly to this. I also wanted a bit of the "crinkly" look that denim develops over time at the seams, so I threw the newly finished dress back into the wash and let it hang out in the dryer for a few minutes as well. The fabric still looks completely brand new, but the dress has a little bit of that texture at the seams that I love.

Also, I wanted to mention, I used the "wrong" side of the fabric for a lighter look. I love that I had a choice, which was an unexpected bonus when the fabric arrived! So in these photos it may look lighter than the swatch online, and that is why.

I absolutely love my new denim shirt dress!! I used the Anza Dress pattern by Itch-to-Stitch, (Affiliate links) with a couple of slight modifications to lend a little bit more "shirt-dress" to the pattern. I changed the shape of the pockets, and made a separate sash to tie at the waist. I also used the denim top-stitching thread and top-stitched in a couple more places than what the pattern calls for.

When sewing for my kids, my first choice is always Art Gallery Knits. When they are so buttery soft, and hold up so well, why wouldn't I??? My kids love to live in soft comfy clothes too, so it's a win-win.

These knits also sew up like a dream. My serger and double needle are huge fans of this fabric. The stretch and recovery also make it so comfy and easy to wear. This fabric is quite stretchy, yet has nice weight to it that keeps it stable. It has good recovery as well, so this makes it an excellent choice for a sewist who is just beginning to work with knits. But those with experience will love it as well for the ease of sewing and the BEAUTIFUL outcome every time.

There are several ADORABLE prints to choose from in the knit section of this collection. But I was most drawn to this amazing floral print. It's something I would wear myself, but isn't too grown up for my little girl either. She oohed and aahed over it when it came and I told her it was for her.

I used the Janie Dress pattern by Mouse House Creations for this dress. (Affiliate links) I love the simplicity of the design and how it allows a gorgeous fabric like this to shine. I made no modifications to it at all, other then blending two sizes for a custom fit. It is all the heart eyes from both of us for this dress!

We love our coordinating Mommy and Me dresses! Thanks for the amazing fabric, Art Gallery!