Lovin' the Cold Shoulder!

Every once and a while a dress comes along that is a WOW dress.  This is one of those kind of garments.  The first time I wore it to work, the first customer of the day comes in and comments, "I'm single with 2 kids."  I laughed and responded, "I'm married with 4 kids."  He sighed and said he figured as much because of the ring on my finger.  My boss said I looked nice, my mom stopped in and said, "Wow!  I like that dress!!"  And to top it off I forgot my lunch in my car so I headed out to get it when it was time for my lunch break.  While walking through a parking lot, a man with his two young kids stopped dead in his tracks and said to me, "Wow!  That's a GREAT dress."  Thus, I present my WOW dress lol:

Pamela's Patterns #116 Classic T-Shirt Dress

 

 

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Pattern:  This dress was made from Pamela's T-shirt Dress Pattern, #116 , made in Pamela's Knit's

Fits class in Philly a few months ago.  I traced off my original pattern, and this is my 3rd version of the dress.  My second one is found Here.and I have yet to review the first dress (maybe next week).  I can't praise this pattern enough.  It is ripe for plenty of pattern hacks in addition to the numerous necklines, sleeve lengths, and hemlines built into the pattern. 

Fabric:  I made this out of a beautiful, print ITY purchased during the Knits & Fits class and instantly knew what kind of dress to make with the fabric.  As usual, I make many alterations to make the pattern template "my own".  These were the alterations I made on my previous version above with additional alterations for my current dress in this review shown in red.

 

Alterations (Same as this previous version): 

1. 5/8" upper body horizontal tuck on both the front, back, and sleeve pattern pieces.  Pamela determined the amount of the tuck needed and this was wonderful for me.  I couldn't tell the exact amount needed on her patterns, and since she has fitted at least a thousand people or so, she can tell just by looking at a person's body.  So helpful.
2. Even though her patterns have a forward shoulder built in, I moved the entire shoulder seam allowance forward another 1/2" and added for 1" shoulder seam allowances.  This is pretty much what I do on all patterns and I tweak it in fabric as needed.
3. Repositioned the dart and dart legs.  I loathe bust darts that are perfectly horizontal or close to it.  I've found that lower, more angled darts are more flattering on my body, kind of like French darts.  Also adjusted the dart point lower about 1/2" and tweaked in fabric.
4. Altered the sleeve for forward shoulder by removing a 1/2" from the front sleeve seam allowances and moving it to the back sleeve seam allowances.  I have always been skeptical this would work well, and was pleased that this easy fix was a piece of cake that solved an issue I was making more complex (in pattern alterations) than it really was.  Needless to say, I told Pamela I was thrilled that this worked.
5. Pamela pin-fitted the side seams on my figure for a flattering silhouette.  It's always helpful when someone with such extensive fitting talent can do this for me.   She knew the fit I was trying to achieve and with her help, I got it!
6. Finally, on this version I added princess seams to the back pattern piece.  I could have created a center back seam since that is an option on this pattern, but a center back seam has never solved my fit issues at all.  Two princess seams can achieve, on my figure, what a center back seam simply cannot do.  My bumps are my prominent shoulder blades curving in to a small center back.  Princess seams are the most flattering lines on my body, and years ago I was so resistant to them.  I thank the late, great Shannon Gifford for her expertise and guidance in this area.  She made me a convert, and now I love them.  My princess seams are tweaked to my curves providing a more flattering fit.

Additional Alterations for this version:

 

1.  Cold Shoulder Cutouts.  I sliced 2 1/2" off the sleeve caps allowing for a 1/2" seam allowance.  In retrospect, I would have preferred to cut off 2 allowing for a 1/2" seam allowance.  The sleeve dragged downward, and it didn't look right to me.  So the old noodle got a hummin' and I created a tuck at the top center of the sleeve, created a casing, and added 1/4" elastic so the top of the sleeve would hug my arm.  Voila!  Much better.  Shoulda, woulda, coulda...I knew Pamela had a quick tute on the cold shoulder cutout but I couldn't remember the link so I just did my own thing.  After the dress was finished, my coworker reminded where it was.  It's Here!  I'm going to try Pamela's tute next time.

 

2.  Side Seam Tweaking.  I wanted more of a bodycon look this time.  Not tight, just form fitting. 

 

Likes/Dislikes:

 

No dislikes.  I LOVE this pattern.  It is ripe for pattern modifications galore.  I'm going to introduce my daughter to this pattern because it's easy to alter and stitch up.

 

Likes.  I covered that in my previous review.  Everything lol.  The instructions are excellent, the seam allowances are generous for fitting, two different fronts for smaller and larger cup sizes,  optional center back seam, all the neckline, sleeve, and hemline variations, the "average" woman sizing block, and YouTube video tips.  There is PLENTY of help in the pattern.

 

Final Thoughts:

 

Are you an average woman?  I am.  Birthed 4 kids, reached the 50 milestone, and the figure variations I want to camouflage can be done easily with this pattern for the average woman.  Simplicity in a pattern can be our best friend.  Simple lines + fitting skills = A Flattering Fit.  Check out Pamela's Patterns.  They don't disappoint!  I own her entire line of patterns :) .