Patterns and Spots

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
So, something quite exciting happened a few weeks ago. I was asked to be a pattern tester for a new indie pattern company that Abby was starting called Blue Ginger Doll. I was quite chuffed to be asked really. I've never done any pattern testing before (except for my own adventures in pattern drafting) and so I jumped at the opportunity to be involved.

I received a lovely big package in the post a few weeks later that turned out to be the pattern for Abby's first dress, the Billie Jean.

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It's a truly lovely pattern to work with. I didn't really need to make any alterations besides the ones I normally have to make to most patterns.

I did end up pinching a bit of excess out of the neckline though, probably about 3cm all up. The dress straps are designed to sit off the shoulder but I wanted to be able to wear the dress as an 'every day' dress and so needed to be able to wear a bra without the straps showing.

This is really very easy to do - simply cut out the front pattern piece in a muslin, place it on yourself or your dress form and pin the shoulder straps where you would like them to sit. Pinch out the excess on the neckline evenly on both sides, iron the excess down so that you have a flat pattern piece and redraw. Do the same for the back pattern piece so that the shoulder straps line up. You will need to slightly true up your pattern piece around the neckline after that, but it's really very minimal.

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I made version 2 of the dress but made the skirt less full. My version is made from a light cotton black and white polka dot fabric and is lined in the same fabric.

The Billie Jean dress is Abby's first pattern and is available for pre-sale at the moment in both downloadable pdf and paper variations. Check out her website for other variations of the dress, you'll see that it's really a great pattern for mixing and matching different fabrics and styles.

xx
Jen
16 comments on "Patterns and Spots"
  1. Ohhh the perfect elegant polka dot dress! I love the cut and the size of the polka dots! I bet you'll be able to dress this beauty up nicely with cute cardigans and coats in winter too :D

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  2. Lovely, Jen! And thanks for the explanation of how you "pinch" out. I hear sewers referring to it all the time, but never really understood how to go about it.

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  3. Lovely, Jen! And thanks for the explanation of how you "pinch" out. I hear sewers referring to it all the time, but never really understood how to go about it.

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  4. Gorgeous! Love the spots. What a lovely pattern.

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  5. I love the dress:-) much prefer the skirt less full.

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  6. What a great pattern! It fits perfectly and I like the subtle changes you made.

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  7. what a lovely dress! How nice that you got the opportunity to test a pattern. That is really nice.

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  8. So, so pretty! I love that fabric!

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  9. es muy bonito
    http://mandarinacosturera.blogspot.com.es/

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  10. OH! I love this dress! You always look so polished and lovely in your photographs!

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  11. It's so cute! Great work pattern testing!

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  12. Beautiful! This dress looks great in polka dots, and you did a great job making the skirt hem a bit less full.

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  13. Love the fabric you used! Really cute dress. :)

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  14. This is so cute on you!

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  15. Cute dress! Polka dots always make an outfit feel so fun. I like how you paired it with red shoes. :)

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