Hadley's Tween Halter Top Dress - Review

This is a 3 in 1 pattern including a top, dress and maxi.  Overall, it's a good pattern.  My biggest pet peeve is the illustrations.  Some of the photos are of completely different fabric, meaning they weren't using the same fabric for the bodice in every photo.  It is very confusing for an intermediate sewer let alone a beginner, and this pattern is marketed for beginners.  I also wish the seam allowances were more prominently displayed.  I actually thought there were none until I went back through the pattern for this review and found it.

I made a size 14 for growing room, and there will be very little.  This pattern runs small.  But that's okay, it's just a note for anyone else wanting to try the pattern.

I didn't like having a raw seam at the waist, so rather than stitch the bodice and lining to the skirt as one unit, I chose to only attach the bodice then stitch the lining down to enclose the raw edge.  I used the stitch in the ditch method, and hand tacked any places that didn't catch.  Don't mind my stray threads.  Oops. :)

Pattern Review:


Pattern Description:   Hadley's Tween Halter Top, Dress and Maxi - PDF pattern

Pattern Sizing: Girls' 7/8 through 15/16 - I made a size 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes 

Were the instructions easy to follow? For the most part.  Some of the photos were different fabrics, and that makes it confusing.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It was fairly easy once I realized the photos were different.  That is my biggest complaint.  

Fabric Used: 100% cotton

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: The bodice and bodice lining are treated as one when attached to the skirt.  I chose to only attach the bodice then stitched the lining in place to cover the raw edge.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? No, I won't be using this one again.  I recommend it to others but with a note about the illustrations.  Pay attention.  

Conclusion: I think after having this experience with a PDF pattern and it being the first, I'll stick to the big 4.  They are better written and illustrated.  This pattern runs small, so measure if you can.  This little girl wears a size 12 now, and this dress fits her loosely, but it won't last as long as I wanted or expected.  I thought it would have much more room in the waist.  

I also made a matching doll dress using another PDF pattern, and I had some issues with it as well.  I'll review it at a later date.

I would advise buying these PDF patterns based on reviews.  There were no reviews when I bought these, and I won't do that again.

I hope this helps.  If you have questions, please feel free to ask.

Happy Friday!
Angela

Dress Form Continued

I've been working on this form off and on (more off than on) for a couple of weeks.

If you'll remember in the first installment, I suggested knowing certain measurements including the bust curve.  This is why that's so important.

This was my first padding attempt for the bust line.  My bust curve, that is from my apex down to my under bust, is 3.5".  When I remeasured this on the dress form after padding, the bust curve was 4.5".  Everything else was accurate, apex to apex, apex to side seam and shoulder to apex.  That meant I had overpadded the bra.

I removed the padding and started over.  She is outside almost "nekked" because the lighting was better.  I have no idea what my neighbors were thinking!!  I'm sure to get a letter from the HOA. Oops!

Anyway, now everything is dead on except for my full bust measurement.  That tells me that I need more in the back, not in the busts.  I have a wider back from doing pull ups in the gym, so once I pad that out, the new full bust measurement will be accurate.

So this means you can't just put your bra on the form and start padding out without knowing these measurements.  It won't give you an accurate representation, and we want this as accurate as possible.

I am working on my cover now.  I have carved out the sway back on the form, and I was left with a Jessica Rabbit butt. LOL  I know my hiney falls much lower in reality than on the form, so I'll be tackling that next.

Once I get that fixed, I'll begin padding out for the hiney, hips and the upper back where I need a little width/fullness. I have more an athletic build, but I do have a little more hip than Jessica is showing right now. Ha!  

I want to contour the hiney more underneath, so when I'm making pants, it'll be easier for me to fit - I hope. For that reason, I opted for a separating zipper, which I'll show in future posts.

I am posting as I go on this journey, so please feel free to ask questions or offer suggestions.  I know my friends are sick of hearing about this dress form, but they have been so gracious with their time and help, and for that, I am sincerely grateful!

Thanks for stopping by.
Angela

Uniquely You Dress Form - Surgery!

I have wanted a dress form for a very long time, but the standard form just wouldn't work for me.  My torso is much, much longer than the standard form, and I have a sway back.  After much research and analyzing, I finally decided on a Uniquely You dress form.

I chose this form because it's made of foam.  I can chop off what I don't need and pad out what I do.  The rest is supposed to compress once you put the cover on.  Word of wisdom, that doesn't work well.  As other reviewers have noted, it does not compress the 5" they claim it does.

Because of that, I chose the smallest form they had - a petite size.  Here are the measurements for all sizes.

My measurements are 36, 26, 35.25.  Based on that you'd think the small would have been the obvious choice.  I chose the petite, because I'd rather pad out than cut down.  I just think it's easier.  But that's purely personal preference.  What I didn't know was the back of the neck to the waist measurement.  It's 12.5" on the petite and 15" on the small.  In hindsight, I should have gone with the small just for that reason.  So my first tip to you would be to know that measurement before you order one.  I can fix this, but it'll take a bit more work.

I also want to mention that I took the Craftsy class on customizing a dress form, referred to LaSewista's blog many times, and watched this YouTube video.  All of these were a tremendous help.

My second tip is to take the class, so you know exactly where and what to measure.  I also took Joy Mahon's class Fast Track Fitting (the 2nd one) so I had quite a few other measurements that helped this process too.  You'll want to know your hollow of neck to waist, waist to hip, apex to apex, shoulder to apex, apex to side seam, upper bust, under bust, side waist to hip, back of neck to waist, front waist, and back waist.

Okay, so problem one: torpedo boobs.  A friend of mine thought this looked like Jessica Rabbit, so for now, that's her name.

My first order of business was to take those down a bit.  Based on other reviews, I used scissors in lieu of an electric carving knife.  I basically wanted to round them out.  That is tip number three.  Use scissors where you can.

And here is the after.

After that, I began making demarcations for my waist and apex.  I tied a piece of thin ribbon around the natural waist.  This is my own measurement not the form's.  I measured down where my natural waist would be and tied the ribbon.  Then I used a sharpie and marked all the way around the waist at the ribbon.  I also measured my shoulder to apex and apex to apex and made a mark as well.

You can see that measurement here.

Notice that it's much lower than the form's apex.  I chose not to worry much about that, because I sacrificed one of my own well fitting bras to pad out.  That is tip number four.  Use a well-fitting bra.  It will save you a lot of trouble trying to get the right shape.  That came from Bunny at LaSewista.

Here she is with bra on and padded out.

The next order of business was the waist.  My front waist measures 14 inches but my back waist is only 12.  So while the total circumference is 27" on the form, you need to know where to chop off that extra 1".  For me it was the back waist.  Since I know my sway back is part of that problem, I chose to carve out there.  I basically needed to begin to create a "shelf".  I have my bra pushed up out of the way, because I did use the electric carving knife here and didn't want to cut it.  I kept measuring as I went and remarked as well.

Another view:

Part of the next problem is that my bum sits 4" lower in actuality than on this form, so I have to move the full hip down 4".  My plan is to use the knife to just cut off the whole bum and move it down 4".  I want to get my cover finished and on her before I cut into again.  My markings are accurate, but I may not need to go to all the trouble of cutting off the whole bum.  Maybe I just need to contour more from the waist into the top of the bum and pad out the bottom part.  I wont' know until I get the cover on.

I have the muslin done and it fits perfectly.  I have the fabric cut for the cover and the darts stitched in.  I should have that complete today.

Stay tuned as I go on this journey.  I have no idea how it will turn out, but so far so good.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope I've encouraged you to start customizing your own form if you haven't already.

Angela