Love Notions Olympia

I’m proud of myself for taking a little break from testing so that when Tami at Love Notions announced this surprise pattern test I was ready to jump right in! I am a sucker for a crisp V-neck and shawl collar; it’s such a lovely vintage-inspired look that’s easy to turn modern. Picture credit goes to the fabulously talented Marj, who always scouts the best spots, helps me modestly change outfits 3 times while shooting in the middle of a suburban field, and is overall amazing. If you’re in SoCal and looking for a personal photographer/ potential BFF I can’t recommend her enough.

Head all the way to the bottom for your chance to win a copy of the pattern and find a coupon for 20% off the fabric I used! Here’s the low-down on this fabulous pattern:

Link to pattern	Olympia Dress (affiliate link)
Layers?	Yes
No-trim pages?	Yes
Measurements for bands?	Pattern piece provided for arm binding
Print Chart?	Yes
Sizes	XS-XXXL (high bust 31″-47″)
Variations	Skirt and sleeve length; optional integrated pockets; optional invisible zipper for nursing access
Finishing	Bodice front includes facing for V-neck that extends to shawl collar
Pattern Details	Separate pattern pieces provided for sewing cups B-DD Bodice length cut lines provided for fabric type and weight of maxi skirt sewing cup is determined by Full Bust – High Bust. It is NOT the same as your bra cup
Fabrics	Light to mid-weigh knits – fabric selection has a major impact on fit in this pattern

This dress went through NINE iterations during testing – that’s a lot! But that accounts for continued fine-tuning of the fit through the bust, back, and armscye, especially challenging when designing by sewing cup size. My pictures are from version 7, with some of the adjustments from V8. The final version has more fitted armscyes and an adjusted bodice length. I also made a V4 with liverpool (I’ll throw that pic at the bottom) and it was immediate love – it felt so spring-y and feminine.

My smile perfectly reflects how much I LOVE wearing this dress.

I did a few special things with my dress to make it really stand out. I cut the back bodice as 2 pieces rather than on the fold so I could go full-drama with these Piccadilly stripes; I did the same with the front skirt. I wanted the hem to be extra full, but the skirt wasn’t quite wide enough to fit my petticoat. So I did a 2 1/4″ hem instead – which is generally a terrible idea on a rounded hem! To make it work I ran a basting stitch around the entire hem at 1″, then gathered very gently all the way around and used that as a guide to double fold and stitch the hem. The basting stitch brought the excess in just enough that I don’t have any tucks in my hem allowance.

I’m not even a little bit humble about this stripe matching – this pattern is a great opportunity to practice that skill!

You can see on the side that no stripe matching is going to be totally perfect when there are curves involved, but you can make it work where it really counts. And it’s not like I’m going to give up my curves anytime soon.

You can really see here where I made an effort to give the hem some extra body. And I love that I had somewhere so green to pose after the long SoCal drought. Here’s hoping all this grass doesn’t become a fire hazard come August.

Now, you want to win a copy of the pattern and score this fabric? Head on over to the Piccadilly Facebook page and comment on my post there. I’ll draw a random winner 3/29/17. You will also find there a coupon code for 20% off this fabric at PiccadillyTextileCorp.com

Here’s my V4 in liverpool, just in case you wanted to see what I look like at 11pm most nights 😀 The armscyes aren’t finished, and the skirt isn’t hemmed (welcome to pattern testing!)