I fell in love with this New Look pattern as soon as I saw it in my local dressmaking shop. The pattern consists of two designs in nine different sizes. We opted to make dress B in an age 4, which is a sleeveless, open backed, below the knee dress with a lovely sash detail which allows it to be tied at the back. The pattern asks for any fabric from a chambray to a cotton or linen blend, so using my Sound of the Sea quilting cottons was perfect. These fabrics are a lovely weight and create a nice full skirt. For this dress we used 'Sirens Spell-Sea Mist Blue' for the bodice, 'Seaweed Sway-Sea Mist Blue' for the skirt and 'Siren's Spell-Dusky Turquoise' for the sash.
As stated, it is classed as an easy pattern and it can be made up in a couple of hours. The pattern does call for a zip, so if you aren't confident in sewing them that may be a little tricky, however on the whole the pattern is very easy to read and understand with clear instructions.
Overall this is a beautiful dress for either a special occasion or could be styled in more of a practical way with leggings and a long sleeved top. I really like the charming open backed detail and the tie bow at the back. The skirt is really pretty and quite full, but if you wanted it to be fuller you could easily add a petti coat. Also in colder months the dress could be worn with a top underneath so that the wearer doesn't get a cold back.
I would definitely make this dress again in other fabrics as it show cases the designs really well. I also like how the fabrics can be mixed and matched to create a fun look, something which I think a child would love. It's just a shame the sizes only go up to an age 8 because I'd love an adult version!
Comments