Kristina
Your Measurements: Bust –45″/115cm, Bra Size – 16DD, Waist – 38-40″/99 cm. Hips – 48-50″/124cm , Height – 5’6″/166 cm
Body Shape: Pear from the front, but more apple from the side at the moment, (I’m a Cider /Perry mix…)
Pattern size used: This is my first Liesl & Co pattern, so I went with my body measurements & cut a straight size 20. The pattern is cut for a B cup, there are instructions given to do an FBA if necessary, I didn’t bother as I only have 1.5” difference between my Full & High bust. I used a PDF version of this pattern, it came together really well. I also used the sew-along to check a couple of details when constructing the placket.
Alterations: None, I made this straight out of the packet. I made View A, despite no alterations my sleeves seem much longer than the model on the instructions.
Fabric: A lovely drapey Atelier Brunette woven viscose from Miss Maude Sewing, this fabric is an absolute dream to sew & wear (which is good, as it’s rather spendy!) I wanted something light that would highlight the pretty ruffles without being too bulky. I used just on two metres of fabric.
Fit: Well for starters the shoulders are too wide for me, so the sleeve head is sitting off the edge of my shoulder. To be fair this isn’t unusual for me & going forward I would definitely adjust for this and my high round shoulders (thanks to hours sitting in front of a PC) I can feel the neckline creeping back, possibly not helped by the weight of the buttons. The fit through my bicep is good (I often have to do a Full Bicep Adjustment), in fact the whole garment feels nice to wear, although maybe a tad short through the bodice for my taste.
Changes for future versions: As above, I will adjust for my shoulders, and also add an inch or so to the bodice piece, so the peplum sits a little lower (I have a mortal dread of flashing my tummy!) I am also undecided on the sleeve frill. Maybe because the sleeve has come out longer than on the model, I feel like it’s a little overwhelming combined with the hem frill. I am going to take the ruffle piece off, shorten the sleeve an inch or so & baste, to see if it looks a bit more balanced. If I still don’t like it I will ditch the sleeve frill altogether & use the second piece of bias binding I cut for the neckline to trim the sleeve. I always forget I only need one neckline binding & cut on my folded fabric, sometimes it comes in handy!
Final Thoughts : I actually like this pattern a lot, it definitely needs some tweaks to fit me better, but I really like the back button placket details (lots of opportunity to customise with contrast fabric & buttons) & the frill on the bodice bottom is a good depth, with a nice amount of swish. I do think the sleeves will look better a bit shorter, I would probably be inclined to make them again with a plain hem on the bodice, particularly if I use a printed fabric. The instructions are clear, I thought I would find the placket & neckline binding in particular much fiddlier than it actually was, and the finish is lovely.
I received my pattern very kindly gratis from Liesl & Co in exchange for a fair review.
Carla
Check out Carla’s vlog on the Gelato pattern:
There is an actual alteration for garments that slide to the back. It took me 20 years of looking in EVERY pattern alteration book I could find because none of the many alterations suggested to me even came close to fixing the problem. I knew it had to be out there because men’s garments don’t slide like that on me. So here goes.
The reason it happens is because you are bigger across the top of your shoulders (at the neck) in the back than the pattern. For the alteration you add anywhere from 1/4 to 1″ (or more) at the shoulder point on the back of the pattern and taper to nothing at the sleeve edge of the shoulder seam. You will need to adjust the back shoulder seam length to match the front, possibly tweek the sleeve if you added a lot and lengthen your collar or neck facing in the amount you added.
It does take some experimentation to find the correct amount for you and it will vary from pattern to pattern, but I have been so thrilled with how much better my garments fit since I found this alteration.
To give credit, here is a link to the book I found the alteration in – https://www.amazon.com/Life-Not-Dress-Size-Attitude/dp/080198758X She of course goes into greater detail. For me it was certainly worth the price of the book.
Happy sewing!
This is such a lovely make Kristina!
Great sewing! I like all three makes and other than that ruffled sleeve being too long they seem to fit very well. Thank you for trying new silhouettes!
Thanks, Addie, pretty pleased with these ones! x
Thanks Addie!
Kristina, thank you for posting! Patterns can be expensive and fabric more so! It is so helpful to actually see a pattern on a real person as opposed to a drawing. I agree that the length should be longer in the bodice. On the sleeves, you might want to cut them off just above the elbow and then add the flounce. ADDING to the
Thanks Tru, Yes I started unpicking & thought “why am I doing this?!”, Chop chop, much quicker!:) x
As to the the bodice length, doing a full bust adjustment (which you said you usually do but omitted on this garment) would add length to the bodice and might give go the result you need.
Kristina, thank you for the thorough review and honesty re the final result, which looks super cute on you. I like the whole penny sewn into the hem to counterbalance a back neckline sliding back, you can interface a penny coin and sew it in to a hem to evenly weight the garment. I have a similar body shape so seeing this top sewn up really helped me rethink my hesitation over frills.
Thanks so much, thats a really handy tip, I wouldnt have thought of a counter weight like that! Please dont hesitate on frills, depending on the fabric and the amount of gathering they can be so cute 🙂
I had been underwhelmed by this pattern when it was released, so imagine my delight when I could see the garments on curvy bodies and they look AMAZING! Okay now imagine my crushing disappointment when the second review is a vlog. In my country Internet is VERY expensive, and YouTube is one of the great data sucking culprits. I know it’s a ton of extra work, but a simplified transcript or just a note saying “basically the pattern is a winner/awful, watch the vlog for full details” would be immensely appreciated. The dress looks stunning, but now there’s a cliffhanger for me! Was it good? Was it absolutely terrible? Would you make it again?
Hi Thandi,
Carla made the top and the dress. She loves the top and is panning to make it again. Carla hasn’t typically worn this type of dress and is starting to love the dress too. She said the sewing was fun and easy. I thought she looked great in both.
Kristina, I love your top, and the fabric is divine!!
Thanks Carla, I so enjoyed your Vlog, your top & dress are both lovely (thats dress fabric is FAB!), the journey to get there had me in stiches, seam ripping is a Superpower remember! x
Kristina, If you had done a full bust adjustment extra length would have been added in the front where you mentioned the finished garment was too short. The difference between a B cup and a DD cup is more than just the width of the garment as extra length is needed to accommodate the fuller bust.
Hi Jeanette, thanks for the feedback, will take on board for the next one !