Well, I've been at it again ... more pattern-testing ... I'm TOTALLY addicted, I tell ya!
If you follow me on Facebook you would have seen my sneak-peek at some fabrics I was playing with a couple of weekends ago. Well, here's what I was testing. It's the Eloise Dress from Nikki of Bubby and Me Creations, and I LOVE it. I can see a whole lot more of these little dresses in my future, and I can honestly say this has been my absolute favourite pattern-test to date. This dress is complex enough to challenge me, but not so hard that I would steer away from it. It came together in just a couple of hours, so it's a nice quick sew and what's even better is that my model adores it.
My favourite part is the back detail with the buttons ... love a button-up bodice.
I also adore the cap-sleeves, and it's ingenious how the bodice is constructed. My tip would be to absolutely iron the heck out of everything each step of the way ... I just set my iron up close-by on a mini ironing board so it's not a hassle to get up and press those seams. It really does make a world of difference to the finished product!
Now, I tested the size 7, but really ... as If I was ever going to stop at 1. So, I pulled out this adorable giraffe print I've had in my stash for eons, and made up a size 3 as well.
Hannah loves her giraffe-dress ... apparently it's perfect for swinging!
... and I love those little curls that are finally getting long enough to look like real little-girl hair!
Oh, and I had to laugh after I posted the following pic to Nikki ... oops ... yep, that would be an ice-block hanging from Hannah's mouth ... really, whatever it takes ... ha ha!
As far as PDF patterns go, this one was super easy to print and cut out, and Nikki even modified it further during the testing process making it possible to print ONLY THE SIZE YOU WANT! Very clever, and really does make such a difference!! The tutorial instructions and pics were great. I actually used the pictures more than anything, being the visual learner that I am. The original version was a little short. Bethany is not at all tall for her age, and she felt the dress was a little short on her (which I have totally fixed by adding a row of 2-inch-wide lace to the bottom of the dress ... she loves it!) It seemed like lots of the other testers also found it to be a little short, so Nikki re-worked the pattern to lengthen it (and made a couple of other subtle changes).
So of course ....
... I just had to volunteer to make another. I'm a lost cause ... seriously!
This one is actually my favourite of all three dresses. Apart from being an absolutely perfect length on Bethany, I think this fabric choice just worked so well with the design. Super spring-like and fun. I had originally planned to make this one as a gift for another little girl, but when Bethany tried it on there was absolutely no prying this dress off her ... I think she's inherited my love of fabrics, and she fell hard for this one!
I especially like the navy-blue buttons that I reclaimed from an old pair of pyjamas a long time ago ... just happened to have 3 left ... meant-to-be I'd say!
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