Look at that stripe matching! Just look at it!!
Yes, I am happy to say that I paid attention during cutting to try to get the side seams and the front and back all matched up for the plaid version of this cute little dress.
Mantica Dress by Sofilantjes
This knit summer dress was another pattern test for Sofilantjes. There are options for a gathered, longer skirt, and different color blocking on the back.
I wish she could wear it to school, but no shoulders showing is the dress code. Still, she can wear it elsewhere over the summer.
It also is a little harder for bra-wearing tween/teen to wear it due to the back, but they can also just wear a nude colored or matching bra. It seems showing straps is not such a taboo thing anymore. With the lined bodice, I’m not sure my girl will really need to wear one with it, but she can if it makes her more comfortable.
This dress was mostly made from a complimentary mystery scrap pack that Zenith & Quasar fabric sent to me. The cuts were only a 1/2 yard, some had flaws, too, so I had to be creative. Luckily I received two matching plaids, but in different fabric bases.
This plaid dress has many different types of stretch fabric:
- skirt plaid – scuba knit
- top plaid – brushed poly
- red and black – ponte, though different weights and stretch
- black skirt lining – athletic mesh
So yeah. The seams didn’t exactly match up as well as I am used to with this pattern maker. As no one else mentioned the issues I had (which really weren’t many), I can attribute it to the different stretches and weights of fabric I used.
The instructions worked well for attaching everything together. It is a really cute look! Make sure to mark the armbands from the pattern, so they all match up at the same spot. There are reasons for pattern markings.
Then there was the big decision of gold or silver grommets.
I ended up going with gold, and made a cording out of red knit jersey fabric. Now that I have a tube turner that works, I love using it! I did not have the correct size grommet setter, though. I ruined the first waistband, and had to cut another off grain with the remnants of the black I had left.
As for the cording, in the instructions she has you put the cording in at the end. I knew it would be a huge pain to get it through the holes (though I think I do have a bodkin…somewhere). I added the cording before sewing the waistband to the skirt, so it was already sandwiched in there. I just had to make sure it wasn’t near the seam when I was serging it together.
Inside of the dress:
This was the second dress I made. These dresses are good to use up smaller cuts of fabric you may have laying around. I had used both of these for clothes for myself, and used up much of the rest of it for this dress.
Fabrics:
- Flowers – This is a stretch woven that has a nice satin sheen on it.
- Matte Grey – This is a performance knit
- Shiny Grey (skirt lining) – An athletic mesh
- Navy – Rib knit
They worked pretty well together. I had to piece the back, since I didn’t have enough to cut two skirts on the fold. When sewing together two fabrics with different stretches, always put the one with the lower stretch on top or else the stitching goes off. This dress is sewed a lot on the sewing machine, so that is pretty important.
The design on the top part of the dress is two layered vinyl designs in green and a holographic silver. I purchased the vinyl from Espressions Vinyl. The designs are my own.
The only issue I really have, design wise is the open pocket on the skirt. I think on the smaller sizes it works pretty well, but on the larger sizes, you end up having a huge open pocket for the skirt. It is the entire skirt front. I mean it works great if you are collecting seashells, picking apples or harvesting veggies, but otherwise…seems a bit excessive. I understand why she designed it like this – for a cleaner look on the front and no pocket lines showing through. I just think that what works for littler ones, doesn’t necessarily work the best for someone over 5 ft tall.
So just an FYI on that. Overall, seriously cute little summer dress.
When I took the first plaid dress to the Girl to get fit pictures, she was in the process of giving me the tween eyeroll for disturbing her. She took one look at the dress and deadpanned.
“You like it don’t you??”
“Yessssssss.”
There was much looking in the mirror when she tried it on.
A winner!
Details on the pattern release:
– sale will run from Saturday 00.00 to Monday 00.00 CET (6pm. est)
– Sale price is €5 exl tax (€6,05 incl. eu tax)
– Links:
EN pattern- http://www.sofilantjes.com/…/mantica-tunic-and-dress-pdf-en/
NL patroon- http://www.sofilantjes.com/p…/mantica-tuniek-en-jurk-pdf-nl/
She is looking so beautiful.
Thanks, Anne!
That plaid fabric version you made is absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks, Patricia! It was fun to sew up in such a tween trendy fabric. 🙂