If you make it all the way to the end, you’ll find a chance to enter to win a $25 shop credit at Love Notions (affiliate link) and all the other stops on the tour!
We’re going to start off with just a bit of nostalgia today. Let’s go back in time to March 2015. I had been involved in the online PDF Pattern community for about 6 months and had tested 2 or 3 patterns. James was about a year and a half old and I was sewing daily, making things for him and myself. I was working full time outside the home, and full time at home doing normal wife/ mom duty. My (now ex) husband and I were approaching our 13th anniversary and as that sped by we opened the dialog on separation and divorce. I was actively being recruited for a job at a new company offering less responsibility for more money and greater future opportunity. I also have self-diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder, which means during the winter months when the days are short I am extra prone to demotivation and antisocial tendencies. I was building and burning relationships left and right trying to keep my head above water. With all that going on, why would I have signed up to be a pattern tester for a top-secret pattern bundle for a designer I had never tried and a pattern I hadn’t even previewed? I confess, mostly it was ego – I just wanted to see if I would even be picked as a relative newcomer to the scene who was trying to make a niche for herself. I have let go of much of that ego in the past 2 years – how could I not? But I have held onto pattern testing as a motivator, sanity savor, and occasional anchor when I need it. Testing for Tami in particular is always rewarding, and I’m proud to now be a Love Notions Ambassador. Being chosen as a tester for the Bluezette meant a lot to me when a lot of other things were falling apart. Tami doesn’t know, couldn’t know how positive it has been for me to get so deeply involved with the indie sewing community. I am grateful to her for helping me find my niche early on.
My love for the Bluezette in particular is pretty well-documented. The skirt shapes are so straight-forward and well-drafted, and work with knits and wovens which means I use them at every opportunity to change up other dress patterns (i.e. Sis Boom Jenny and Love Notions Willow Wrap). Since testing the Rhapsody I’ve had a vision of an easy-peasy slightly retro knit dress with the Rhapsody bodice (aff link) and Bluezette (aff link) straight skirt. I turned to this super-funky ITY that I picked up in DTLA last summer for $3/yard. It’s slightly peacock-y, slightly paisley, and 100% 70s-inspired awesome. The ITY means it drapes beautifully and will remain relatively cool even when it’s blistering outside.
This is one project that turned out exactly as I envisioned. I sized the Rhapsody bodice down as recommended, but used my correct size for the skirt. I used a 3/4″ elastic in the waist, left the neckties off the neckline, and cut the bodice 1″ below the marked waistline. Otherwise this really didn’t have any modifications and it came together perfectly as-is. On my next one, I’ll probably add another inch or so through the bodice. After taking pictures I kept this on until bedtime – it is just that comfortable. Then I wore it to work the next day.
I seriously love this dress!
To celebrate the Bluezette’s 2 year anniversary, both the Ladies and the Girls versions are on sale and there is also a rafflecopter giveaway for $25 Love Notions store credit!
Monday: Sew Shelly Sew, The Wholesome Mama
Tuesday: Me Made
Wednesday: Sew and Tell Project, Harper Lu
Thursday: Doodle Number 5, Handcrafted by Red, Tales From a Southern Mom
Friday: Sew Sophie Lynn, Sewing Curves
DoodleNumber5 
Love this! Great job as usual.
Thank you!
Imitation is the best form of flattery. Off to muslin my Rhapsody so I can do this too!
Whoot! I think you’ll like the full bust piece that is included – most of the testers had pretty good success!
This looks beautiful! I don’t buy new patterns on release very often anymore, but I did pick up the Rhapsody 🙂
Beautiful…;o}
Love them!