Thursday 25 December 2014

Pattern Testing the Olivia Dress - and 50% off for Boxing day!

I've been at it again ... pattern testing that is ... and this time right before Christmas.  I just love to sew, and will even make time between Christmas sewing, organising Hannah's birthday party and getting organised for Christmas if I need to.  Who needs sleep anyway!?! ... it's definitely a sickness!


And this time I got to pattern test the gorgeous Olivia Dress pattern from Gracie May Designs. The pattern also comes with options for an equally gorgeous top, which I will be making for Hannah very soon.

The lovely Joanne of Gracie May Designs asked me to test the dress in a size 7 for Bethany.  I went to Craft Depot, raided their $5 fabrics, and found this gorgeous mint and cream polka dot.  The thought of matching it with the white peter-pan-style collar and some cute apricot glitter buttons and *squeal*  that combo absolutely did it for me this time round.  I got by with 1 metre of the main fabric (yep, this one's a $5 dress!!!), and just used a small piece of white homespun from my stash for the collar and lining. 

I found this to be a pretty straight-forward sew, and I would suggest it is good for the beginner sewer (who has maybe a few projects under their belt) and a fun and quick sew for an intermediate level sewer.  There are also 2 sleeve options, a flutter sleeve and a cap sleeve, but I decided for the no-sleeve option for my sew this time round.

Once it was finished, I actually wasn't sure that Bethany would like this as a dress, and had plans to modify it a bit into a top, but it turns out she loves it.  She chose to wear it to Hannah's birthday party last weekend, and has begged me to leave it as a dress which she describes as her "sensible dress", because apparently the collar makes it look very "sensible!".  Funny girl!
Anyway, sensible or not, a dress it will stay, and I can see plenty more of both the dress and top options of this pattern in my future.  If I had known it would stay a dress, I may have added a few more buttons to the back, just to keep it a bit more securely closed.  Just a little tip from me if you go for the dress option!!

Oh, and do you like these shots in front of the green wall in Bethany's room ... my new favourite indoor photo-shoot location.  We had lots of fun photographing this one.
So, for today (boxing day), Joanne of Gracie May Designs is generously having a 50% off sale on her website and Etsy shop for Boxing Day, and you can pick up this pattern, along with all her other designs for 50% off.  Sounds like a great time to stock up on some lovely patterns.


And as usual, Joanne kindly gifted this pattern to me in exchange for my testing and providing feedback and photos (thanks so much for having me Joanne).  All opinions are absolutely my own though, as I would never recommend anything I didn't like.

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