FINISHED! A stripey spring skippy dress

When I first started out sewing, one of the first patterns I ever bought was the Little Explorer pattern by Make it Perfect, to make little pants for Elliot. I loved this pattern and made it up a number of times both for him and for others.

It was with excitement then that I got an email from Toni Coward from Make it Perfect, asking if I'd like to be a part of a blog tour for her latest pattern, the Skippy.  The Skippy also has a little girl variation, the Joey, which Renae made a super cute version during testing.

It has been great to reconnect with this Australian pattern company and discover and rediscover the many patterns that Toni has released. If you don't already know about this company, you will find a plethora of patterns there for the whole family!  Anyway, I couldn't say no to the Skippy.. let's face it... it is a drop waist! And the gathered sleeves add such a cute touch.

The PDF was a cinch to put together and I really liked that pages were only joined for a particular piece of the pattern. I am the biggest fan there is of the instant gratification of the PDF, but it can be a little bit annoying taping a lot of pieces together and ending up on the floor because the result doesn't fit on any table. The instructions are thorough and were easy to follow.

I set off to find the perfect fabric but struggled as I didn't want it to be plain (no surprise) and I couldn't decide whether I wanted to make a spring version or a winter version. I do love the winter version with the twisted cowl neck. In the end this stripey ponte won out and a spring skippy it is.

The fabric choice however caused it's own problems, as a heavy ponte from spotlight (this is my favourite stripe ever but it is so hard to find it anywhere in a deep blue,so when I saw it at spotlight I had to pick it up) it has very little stretch, almost none. It is a heeaavy ponte.  I love the result on the fit and the way it hangs, but obviously such a fabric isn't great for attaching a neckband, unless you use a different fabric. 

I did the neckline an embarassing amount of times. First with the neck band, but it didn't sit flat and was never going to with so little stretch so I unpicked it and opted for the turn down approach, with some clear elastic and the twin needle. As the hours progressed I got fussier and fussier and unpicked and resewed and unpicked and resewed. With relief I can say I'm happy with it now. And I'm surprised at how much I like this scoop neck on me. Quite a different style.

The gathered sleeves went in well. I've always covetted the sleeves on this dress of Tilly's and I think next time I might make them a bit like that - especially with such a heavy knit. 

I took about 2 inches off the length of the bodice to account for my short stature, and I took a substantial amount, about 15cms off the hem.  I left the arms long and didn't cuff them but just turned them under and twin stitched. Same with the hem which I twin stitched after overlocking.

Now that it's made up this dress ticks all the spring dress boxes.  Thick enough to add a bit of warmth,  but an opportunity to get the legs out for the first time in months. I love the slightly loser fit in the top and the kangaroo pouch which could hide any lunchtime sins. This skippy I know, is going to be a workhorse during spring!