For Christmas, one of the presents I received from my very generous mother and father was a subscription to Ottobre Magazine , a whole magazine filled with beautiful patterns! The subscription includes 4 issues of kid patterns and 2 issues of women’s patterns, plus one past issue… for the past issue, my mom chose the most recent Winter 2014 (6/2014) issue. So when I received it a few nights ago, I was so excited to sew something! The first thing that jumped out at me was The Wood Mouse Dress Pattern, a dress pattern very similar to the Hanna Anderson Playdress, which I love and Lucy has several of!
It’s really difficult for me to get decent modeled photographs of Lucy when it’s so cold outside, so these pics aren’t the best! I used a sweatery knit fabric from Joann’s for this dress.
Here are a couple detail shots…
The sleeves are finished with elastic, which I wish I had cut a bit shorter so they ended up more fitted and gathered… next time!
I will say, I really loved the pattern. I am super picky about pattern pieces fitting together correctly when sewing and having proper notches in the places I need them… and in that regard, this pattern was PERFECT! The instructions definitely aren’t as detailed as any of the PDF patterns I own, and they don’t include step by step illustrations, but I was able to easily follow the instructions given. They were very clear and concise.
I am also happy with the fit of the dress… I made the size 92 and it fits just how I expected it to based on the pictures in the magazine… similar to how the size 90 Hanna Anderson Playdresses fit! I think I would lengthen the sleeves a bit if I make another long-sleeved one.
I tried a new method of gathering with clear elastic (which was how the instructions said to gather the main dress piece into the yoke) and I wasn’t too fond with how my back gathers turned out, but I was much more careful when sewing the front and it definitely looks better than the back!
I can’t wait to sew some more of the Ottobre patterns! Here’s a couple shots of my photography helper trying to lure his sister into the photography zone (aka the only place in our house that has a decent amount of natural light that isn’t a complete disaster!). Sam was helping too, but he had his eyes closed in all of the pics of him!!!
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One of my New Years’ Resolutions is to stop buying so many patterns (it’s so hard to resist!) and to use the ones I have, including my Ottobres, which are jam-packed with great patterns, and I’ve only ever sewn one Ottobre pattern ever! I already have a pattern and fabric picked out for a t-shirt for my little guy Joe (who will only wear knit tops, but look, Ottobre has TONS of knit tops, and a nice amount of variety to keep me from getting too bored), and this might have to be my next knit sew for Maggie. Too cute!