Hey, Sewists! I am back at it this week with Melissa of Mahlicadesigns. She is hosting the Show Your Stoff blog tour and I have jumped on board once again. Melissa has teamed up with Zierstoff Sewing Patterns and they have graciously allowed all tour participants their choice of pattern(s) to stitch up and share. I chose the Pia Dress. The Pia Dress is a very quick sew pattern that features bust darts, pleats in the skirt, and a flattering waistband detail.
First, let’s talk fabric. For this dress, I used 2 yards of Strawberry and Black Medallion Print Jersey from Fabric Mart. This was one of their pre-cut fabrics that I picked up during a sale last year. I scored this 2 yard piece for $4.80. Not too bad! This fabric has a lot of stretch and drape to it, which makes it perfect for an easy summer dress. This is a busy print that loses the fit details that I like about the pattern. I should have used a contrasting solid black jersey for the waistband, but all my knit fabrics are packed up for the move.
This was my first experience with Zierstoff Patterns and it ended well. Zierstoff is a small German patterning company doing big things. They have a wide range of PDF patterns for babies, children, woman, and teens.
Even for ending up with a great dress that will get lots of wear, I started out a bit concerned. All other PDF patterns I have ever used have a border around the edges that gets cut off before assembling and markings to match the pages together. Zierstoff patterns do not have this border or markings that print off. They were in the file on the computer, but they do not print out. I am not a fan of this as it results in some important information missing from the pattern. See the picture above. On the skirt piece, one of the notches for the pleat in my size (46) would have been in this unprinted area. As an experienced seamstress and pattern maker I can figure out what is needed to make this work, but as a beginner, I can see being frustrated with this. Like I said, in the end, I did end up with a great dress so I am very happy.
Construction of this dress was a breeze! It went together very quickly. I did not even make a single fit alteration! Crazy, right? I didn’t even have to adjust for length. The only change I made was to add a lining to each front and back waistband. In my experience with similar styles, this helps to hold the shape of the bodice that would otherwise be pulled down by the weight of the skirt.
All things considered, this pattern is a real win for me. It is similar to some of my other favorite dress patterns, but with enough differences in the details that mean, I will enjoy sewing more of them. I will also enjoy wearing it without feeling like I am wearing the same dress in different colors all summer long.
Zierstoff Patterns has been kind enough to offer a discount to all readers too! Use code MahlicaDesigns30 to save 30% through the end of April.
