When the call came out to test the new IzzoSew Studio pattern, I jumped at the chance as this is definitely a bit of me. The Dovestone Dress is a fabulously simple summer dress which can either be made maxi or knee-length and features details which go above and beyond your usual “Beginner” pattern, not in terms of complexity, but in terms of style. As great as beginner patterns are, as we all have to start somewhere, many can be a bit shapeless, which I don’t think helps in maintaining the interest of new sewers. Fabric isn’t exactly cheap as chips nowadays, so I think everyone, regardless of their skill level, wants to be able to make a garment that they’re going to get their wear out of and doesn’t look like something they knocked up in Home Economics in the ’80s. Well, this one certainly ticks the boxes for me. There are no fastenings, no elastic; in fact it’s held up by sheer trickery! You either make a mahoosively long drawstring yourself (don’t worry – you don’t have to turn this out with a loop turner!!) or use a shop bought one, which then gets hoicked up so the back of your dress covers your bra, then it goes over your shoulders, crosses over at the back, whips around to the front under your bust then crosses back round and ties at the back. Phew! Don’t be put off – I’m all fingers and thumbs and even I can do this and once it’s tied, it’s tied – there’s no need for any tomfoolery in the toilets! The pattern is very size inclusive; 25″-54.5″ waist, 34″-63.5″ hip and you can choose to make a B or a D cup. It also has very deep pockets, which doesn’t matter a jot for this tight Yorkshirewoman, but you might be glad of them! 😉
The instructions are written extremely well and have excellent line drawings to accompany them. When I’m testing a pattern, I make sure to follow the instructions to the letter, even if I would do something a different way myself. That way, I can make sure that it makes sense to someone who might not have tried a certain technique before and in this case, I can say for sure that each step is very easy to follow.
One thing I will say is that if you are an absolute beginner, maybe try the knee-length version first, the only reason being is that the trickiest part for me was manoeuvring the sheer abundance of fabric for the maxi version through the sewing machine!
I made my dress in time for my holidays out of a lovely viscose from Rainbow Fabrics that I had in my stash and it is so floaty, it quite literally stopped me from bursting into flames in Mykonos in the middle of the worst heatwave ever in July! The front opening helped to catch a breeze and also made me free to climb all the cobbled steps without tripping up. If the weather isn’t on your side though, I think this dress would still look lovely layered over a t-shirt.
I have to take my hat off to Izzy at IzzoSew Studio. There has obviously been so much work that has gone into this, which certainly makes a nice change for a beginner pattern. Sometimes I feel pattern companies churn easy patterns out to make a quick buck, but Izzy has really taken her time with this, to the point of even having two rounds of pattern testing! From some of the terrible pattern instructions that I’ve come across before, I think some designers only have patterns half-tested as a token gesture so this makes a nice change.
The Introverted Sewist 