Pattern 10: The Go Anywhere Dress

After my Sewing 101 class on Tuesday night, I came home for dinner but then convinced my husband to go back to the store (at 10:30 pm!) so I could pick out my next pattern and fabric to begin pattern 10.  I cut the fabric out that evening as well and sewed the entire dress yesterday in about 2 hours.  I usually announce what I am going to sew on this blog and then give myself 2 days to complete the pattern, but I really got motivated this time!  Although it’s only mid-July, I can’t help but feel the days of summer quickly pass with school looming in my very near future.  It doesn’t help that most of the stores have put all of their fun outdoor things on sale in a dark space in the back corner of their building to make room for the massive section of school supplies.  Standing in Target last week, I cried out in despair, “It’s too early for school supplies!” just to have some lady nearby validate my fears with, “The start of school is just around the corner.”  So, with that in mind, I have been choosing patterns that will result in a few great outfits I’ll be able to wear to school.  That is why I chose pattern 10, the “Go Anywhere Dress”.  It is a classic, basic dress with sleeveless to long sleeve versions to choose from.  You can also put pockets on the front or make the dress a shirt instead.  It has fitted side panels which gives a flattering silhouette.  I chose a gray fabric printed with a darker gray hounds tooth pattern because I want to wear this dress at the beginning of the school year when it is still hot, but I can also wear this dress in the Fall and Winter with a black cardigan and tights. 

     I love the fit of this dress, but I added the black belt to give it a little more interest.  I felt a little boring in the all gray dress.  I would really like to find a yellow or pink belt to spice it up even more!  I didn’t put pockets on the front of the dress for fear of making my hips look wider.

     As far as the ease of use regarding the pattern, I have few complaints.  The pattern is printed on standard size paper with page numbers which made it really easy to find your place and keep the directions in order, although I strongly recommend you staple all the pages together before you begin to keep the pattern pages in order.    The actual pattern pieces have very dark ink lines that made it very easy to cut out.  Many patterns I have used recently have some pieces printed so lightly that I can’t follow the size line to accurately cut out the paper pattern pieces.  Another great feature about this pattern is the way they have clearly presented the amount of fabric you will need for every possible option.  If you decide to buy this pattern, make sure you take the sheets out of the sleeve before buying fabric.  The back of the pattern lists very general fabric requirements (like most patterns) based on your size, but if you pull out the pattern sheets, you will see the exact fabric requirements for the dress with long sleeves, dress with short sleeves, dress with sleeveless, tunic style dress, etc.  The fabric requirements for my sleeveless dress (in size small) were accurate to the inch!  This is a huge convenience when you are trying to save money and not buy extra fabric.  The pattern also has very detailed directions with great pictures.  It would be a great dress for the advanced beginner to complete.  One thing I did find frustrating was the details regarding interfacing.  The pattern explains to follow the layout for using pattern pieces to cut out interfacing, but I did not see any pictures regarding interfacing.  I knew the pieces that needed to be interfaced but how to place these pattern pieces on the interfacing was not there.  Being an experienced pattern sewer, I didn’t need those instructions, but other beginner sewers may have needed that.  Besides that one thing, I loved this pattern and would strongly recommend it to you. 

      There are many options for giving this dress several different looks.  The dress I made looks more business professional but you could make it more fun by choosing to color block the dress.   I would choose a blue or black for the center and back of the dress but the great curved side panels could be  yellow, orange or another fun color.  It would make the dress look stylish and modern.  The pattern also recommends using knit fabrics as well as cotton so you could use this single pattern to make several dresses all with very different looks.

     I am halfway done with my patterns.  I hope I can finish my goal before school starts.  In the meantime, I’m staying out of stores that are selling school supplies.  Those places are starting to give me panic attacks!