Purple Party

My health is still pretty tenuous so these catch up blogs aren’t moving as swiftly as I hoped. I decided to combine a few of them and all of these ones are in the some shade of purple fabric so I figured, Hey Purple party! LOL.

Seamwork Brit (Bonus)

This one is my second time making the pattern. Here is my first version. I made it using a lightweight jersey, which I believe has rayon poly content. It’s really soft and lovely to wear and I definitely have worn it a lot since making it. Since it is long sleeved, I only really wore it in winter or fall or those colder days in summer. I decided to make a short sleeve version.

I used the Bonus version of the pattern, which is a dress, but shortened it to a shirt and shortened the sleeves to short sleeves.

After taking these pictures, I did remove some from the side seams. I used the Cashmerette Concord shirt to reshape the side seams. I felt the combo of the fabric, which is a cotton lycra, and the short sleeves, it just wasn’t fitted enough for the style.

It’s a bit better now, but I am considering making it shorter, too. I’m not a 100% on why it doesn’t spark joy for me, but that’s okay. I like it. I don’t love it though.

 

I think part of the issue is how floofy the ruffle is? I’ll definitely be sticking to lighter weight fabrics for any future versions and probably no making a short sleeve version again. I think part of the love of the pattern is those dramatic sleeves in combination with the ruffle.

Decades of Style Dorothy Lara Dress

I had been wanting to make this dress for a really long time. I’ve long been obsessed with Tanya’s many beautiful versions.

The size range on the pattern is pretty limited so I needed to grade it up several sizes. My bust is around 51 inches so I needed to grade up three sizes. Welp…. I haven’t graded up a pattern for ahem…. quite a while. I messed it up a bit. I also shortened the bodice after trying it on and finding it to be super long (it’s meant to have a blousy style) but went a bit far with it. Ooops.

I switched out the zipper and added elastic to the waist. I definitely don’t hate the dress but it’s not my best work by far. Do not grade a dress up when you are having the worst health flare of your life.

I used a lightweight cotton swiss dot in a lilac shade. It’s quite lovely but also see-through. No good for the winter we are in right now but it was lovely in the summer.

 

I won’t do a review on the pattern because honestly none of this was the pattern’s fault. I will say that if DOS ever wants to expand the size on the pattern, I know many who would get it in a heartbeat.

It is a lovely pattern, but grading up is really not possible when you are having many cognitive issues due to a health flare.

Sew House 7 Wildwood Wrap Dress

The Wildwood Wrap dress is a pattern I tested earlier this year. Sew House 7 has a “curvy” sizes line and this was recently-ish added to their pattern library along with classic favs.

Here is the curvy size range:

I made a size 24 in view B (at the time we tested, that was the only view on the pattern). I shortened the skirt pieces by 4 inches since I am 5’3″.

I feel rather elegant in the dress. I made it using a poly crepe in a lilac shade. What can I say? I love lilac so much! If I weren’t trying to make a pun and a pop-culture/retro reference with my blog, I would probably rename it Sew Pretty in Purple. Hhahaah. One of the biggest comments I get about my blog name is how I actually don’t make everything in pink? It always makes me laugh. I could definitely have an entire wardrobe in purple though.

Here is the dress without the belt. I definitely prefer it with the belt. There is a bit of tightness across the belly that I didn’t notice initially. It isn’t uncomfortable, though. Just a bit of gaping in the pockets because of it.

The belt helps that gaping a lot.

I love the va-vooooom factor in this dress. It’s just absolutely beautiful. Of course, there hasn’t been anywhere to wear it this year sadly. I have been thinking of shortening it to a shirt or tunic length and making it in linen for a WFH look where I can wear comfy pants on the bottom. LOL.

Ellie and Mac South Shore Romper

This is my second time making this pattern. I made this with Minerva fabric. You can check out my post here. I did make some mods from my first version. I did a full butt adjustment for it. It improved a bit but still needs some work.

I really love it though and have worn it a few times since and it’s comfy af.

I absolutely love velvet and could definitely just wear it all the time (okay, maybe not in summer…).

It’s such a lush and lovely jumpsuit.

Laela Jeyne Indigo Bodysuit

Last one to share and with an actual review. I love a good bodysuit. After my Laela Jeyne Patterns Lotus Bodysuit, I figured I would try out the Indigo bodysuit.

The pattern comes in three views and 4 cup sizes. I decided to make view B.

I made a 2XL in E cup but altered the hips/butt. I created a centre back seam and then curved it for my butt. It is pretty damn close. I do think there needs to be a slight bit more room in the butt but it works okay with the same cotton lyrca as the Seamwork Brit. I think it also needs a slight bit added to the length. Again, it’s not causing it to be uncomfortable but it could be better.

The only other alteration I did was to change the location of the snaps. I move the seam up a bit to make the back crotch longer so I can grab it more easily when putting it on. I do that to all my bodysuit patterns. One day, I will post a tutorial on that. It’s a simple mod and makes bodysuits more accessible for me.

It looks super cute with pants and skirts.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with it. The pattern has clear instructions which were easy to follow.

I think my only issue with Laela Jeyne patterns is I am not a fan of the overlapping/no cut pdfs. I am not sure why but I prefer the trim method. I can’t even pinpoint why but it may be my printer causing it to not always print the lines correctly since it is so close to the edge. I tend to make it work, but ugghhh I hate overlap/no cut pdfs. I also need a new printer. LOL.

TL:DR Review

• Pattern: Laela Jeyne Indigo Bodysuit
• Pros: Pretty good size range. Love the different views
• Cons: Not sure there are any?
• Make again?: Yes. I think the turtleneck version would be a lot of fun.
• Rating:  5/5 stars

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