I didn’t want to lie and make it seem like my Reed Trousers were a success. They were not and I have A LOT of feelings surrounding this. This was my first month and time leading the Sew My Style Challenge and I was really excited. When I was asked to lead, I had all these great ideas and I was prepared to take MY BIRTHDAY MONTH by storm.
But then I met the Reed Trousers and it went to hell.
What Happened With The Reed Trousers?
Let me preface this by saying there will be complete honesty here. So let’s get into it.
The Pattern Pieces Had Errors
This wasn’t as much of an issue. I’ve been sewing for long enough to be able to pivot when needed. The front piece for the trousers was labelled as the back. The tutorial referenced using interfacing for the welt pockets but the welt pocket pieces didn’t reflect needing to cut them out. When you print out the pattern, page 1 didn’t print in order. **Spoiler alert: It does print but it comes out between pages 18 & 19 of the pattern.
The Tutorial Didn’t Make Sense (To Me)
I’m pretty smart. I read directions fairly well and when I still can process it, I utilized Google because, well, we all should. When it came for the welt pockets, I looked up this video that was helpful because as I was reading the directions, I just didn’t get how this was supposed to work from the tutorial. Same with the zipper install. I read the instructions an obscene amount of times, installed the zipper a million times only to have to seam tear an equal amount.
Welt Pocket Fail
This was after my final attempt.
Not a fan of the pockets either.
Do you see this????
I gave up here.
And In Conclusion…
Countless hours later accompanied by many tears and a little blood, I have my first unfinished garment in my sewing history. This is the first pattern that has stumped me so much that I couldn’t complete it. I’ve made trousers before for myself and I could have deferred to those instructions but I wanted to follow the tutorial and complete it that way. The Reed Trousers were a big fail for me and I’m still sitting in frustration because they were going to be a birthday present for my husband.
Also, in complete transparency, the pattern designer did let me know to reach out if I had questions or needed help. I didn’t. Why? Because the tutorial ideally should have been something anyone could follow and I’m not a beginner sewist. If you’re looking to make men’s trousers, I don’t recommend these unless some updates are made.
In my head, I’m a classic kind of girl. And honestly, one of my styles does include some of the classic feel–if we’re talking like classically boho-chic. When I saw this dress I just knew that I had to challenge myself to make it. It was just so cute!!!
Patterns for Pirates So Classic Sundress
Let’s chat options:
Bodice: buttons, center seam, plain
Straps: regular, halter
Skirt: mini, knee, maxi
Yes, that means that you can have alllll the dresses you need and they’ll all look different! For mini I made the maxi dress with plain front and regular straps. For myself, I made the knee length, buttons, and regular straps.
Pattern Construction
I love that this pattern didn’t require much in printing. A lot of the pieces are rectangles and the measurements are part of the tutorial. But if I’m being completely honest, this was the hardest dress I’ve ever completed–mine that is. It had a lot to do with fabric choice and working with my measurements. Because this is a fitted dress, your measurements matter A LOT!
Mini’s dress was way easier for some reason and I think it’s because I was adjusting her elastic from the outside but mine was a little more challenging. Our matching dresses were made out of some kind of thin denim made of 62% Cotton and 38% Lyocell that I got from Joann’s. I LOVE how it looks. It’s so beautiful but sewing with it was a challenge because it kept stretching! And I didn’t iron it before cutting out my pieces.
It’s important to note that in order for your fabric to be fitted properly, you need to iron BEFORE cutting. This may seem obvious but it wasn’t for me.
Fabric Choice and Styling
The sky is literally the limit with this pattern. I used both the thin fabric as well as a thicker African wax made from cotton. They draped totally different and have two totally different feels. I hacked the pattern to create a separates outfit with the African wax fabric and I’m so in love. I’ve worn this with just a white t-shirt tied up to be a crop length and have felt so beautiful!
Rating
This pattern gets a 4 out of 5 needles. It’s definitely a must-have pattern but it’s not the easiest pattern to make! It’s totally worth it in the end though!
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Wrap dresses are the epitome of femininity. They are so figure flattering AND they are nursing friendly. Now I’ve made plenty of wrap dresses before but they’ve all been made from knit fabrics–which I love. But my spring/summer boho-chic look is requiring some more woven fabrics to be used and guys, I have the perfect woven wrap dress pattern. I’m so excited to be participating in the “It’s Gonna Be May” Blog Hop with this pattern!
I was nervous about making this pattern. My friend Kelly made the pattern and when I saw it on her, I knew I had to have it. She has the beautiful, hour-glass shape and this dress was just va-va-voom on her. And now it’s va-va-voom on me!!! The best part about this is that there’s a child’s version as well. There are options galore with this ranging from mini to maxi lengths and flutter to bishop sleeves.
Pattern Construction
I didn’t print the entire pattern off as I made the flutter sleeve, mini version. Something to note is that the print guide is not correct so if you’re just printing off the mini version, pay attention to that. Other than the print guide, this dress was way easier to put together–both the paper and the fabric versions.
There is no facing or lining so that’s something to note when choosing fabric. This pattern goes together super quickly–especially for a wrap dress. Once everything was cut, it took me under an hour to complete. The parts that took the longest were finishing the edges and then hemming.
Fabric & Styling
I chose a Georgette Crepe that I got from Sincerely Rylee. I loved this fabric so much I actually bought it on two separate occasions! LOL!!! I love the flowy feel that this fabric offers. While they do suggest using a fabric with good drape, I will be trying this out with an Ankara fabric to see how that looks as well.
This is honestly the perfect woven wrap dress for any occasion. The fabric that you choose is really going to be the determining factor in the styling. I’m on a beach vacation and this dress pairs perfectly with flat sandals. But I could totally see it being dressed up with heels or completely dressed down with Converse.
Rating
I gave this pattern a 3 out of 5 needles because it’s a little challenging.
My name is Aaronica and I'm the sewist behind The Needle and the Belle. I started sewing when I was 13 and then fell back in love with sewing through PDF patterns. I now document my pieces I make here!
