Gemma's "Issy Dress"

So the first ever clothes pattern that I have made up from scratch (well the first one I count as a proper pattern) is Issy's Dress. My friend Lis liked Issy's dress (size 5 ish) enough to request a size 3 for her daughter Gemma. This is the ultimate compliment :) and here is the result:

The fabric is one of the Sherbert Pips range by Aneela Hoey for Moda. Most of this range is super gorgeous and the different colourways cater for pretty much every taste. Often ranges are just super girlie and pink (which is catered for in this range also) whereas this one also includes greys and reds and fabrics which are just a bit different.

I chose to bind the sleeves and skirt hem in a plain cherry red, which was also used for the outside of the waist elastic casing. This dress is actually made as a shirt and top which are joined as part of making the elastic for the waist. I managed to make it so there were no seams from the waist casing inside which was nice (I mucked that up on Issy's despite feeling like I had a plan!).

The ultimate complement was that the birthday girl wore the dress today at her birthday party:

I think the sizing is still a little off. I did fit this to her half way through but I think there could still be less length in the torso (and probably a little less width) and also the neck elastic could be looser. It's a terrible picture too but her mum got lots of comments on her lovely dress (which made me want to explode with joy) and someone even asked if I sold them :) :) :)

So an interesting process to resize the pattern and I think I will try and refine it further and maybe end up with a tutorial or something. It's such a nice dress for this age as they seem comfortable but still like being in a dress. Maybe a version with a frilly skirt of a couple of layers or a combo with the twirling skirt should be on the cards. All the possibilities!

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