When I won three printed patterns from Patternsy, I asked for recommendations in the Seamwork/ Colette library since I had no clue which patterns to add to my collection! I had a few people suggest the Hawthorn. I never really thought much about it before but when I started looking into it I knew I had to make one. I ended up making two! I made the sleeveless shirtdress option and the short sleeve peplum top.
I made the dress first. I picked up this blue plaid cotton at a local fabric store knowing it would make a nice summer dress. After I made the dress, I had a vintage floral cotton I found recently that I knew would make a great top since there wasn’t a lot of it. The floral reminds me of a Liberty print! I ended up making the top right after the dress since the pattern was still out on my work table (not crumpled into a ziplock bag…) and the instructions were fresh in my mind.
I felt that they were both easy to sew and the instructions were clear. The only issue I had was with the buttonholes. My machine still likes to malfunction on those. For every 2 or 3 I did, the machine would forget what it is was doing or make the buttonhole super tiny. I’m happy to say I purchased a Bernina over the weekend and I’m hoping these problems are behind me.
Now, although I really like my finished garments- I have to admit there is a fit issue around the arms and the bodice. I feel like the arm holes need to be larger for me and maybe the bodice needs to be taken in a bit. I really should have made a muslin for this, and I’m sure you’re wondering why I made the second one identical to the first one. I guess I thought I made a mistake somewhere. I think they are both wearable and I’m not sure I’d be interested in taking them apart to make them fit better. I’m curious if anyone else had these issues.
I definitely am considering making another one- the long sleeve dress version in the fall. Hopefully I can sort out the fit issues by then.
After receiving my patterns from Patternsy, I decided I am never printing and taping together a pattern from home ever again! I placed a big order from PDF plotting because I wanted to try them out. They are both good options. I do like the tissue paper Patternsy uses over the standard white paper I received from PDF Plotting. With all of these PDF patterns comes an issue… how to store them! I’m thinking a binder with plastic inserts. I would love to hear any suggestions! I currently have them in ziplock bags but it’s become quite messy since I don’t have anything to store the bags in and I have to dig to find what I was looking for.
Lots of projects in the queue. Hopefully I will be back soon with my next make!
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Both of them look great and I love your fabric choices! Colette’s armscye/sleeves have given me trouble in the past, too. You might want to try a broad shoulder adjustment to the shoulder seams. That usually works for me when I have a tight armscye!
Thank you! I will definitely try that next time!