{ PATTERN REVIEW } The Mira Dress

At any given the opportunity, I love to make stuff for my own kids and myself!  Heidi from Elegance and Elephants, the designer of the bubble pocket shorts we love so much, put a call out for pattern testers for the Mira Dress and I stuck my hand up  filled out the form.  She said I could join in the fun and test a size 9. Lucky for me, I have friends with girls in just about every age group who are willing models!

It was no surprise that when I started making a dress, Anya assumed it was going to be hers which lead to a lengthy decision making process on which fabric...which colour and no that one- we don't have enough ...yes we can use two fabrics... no, not those two  together...but she wants those ones for her dress...oh dear. In the end, I made 4 dresses and we love all of them!!

I really love this black floral fabric (an Art Gallery Fabric called Central Park Fog in the Gramercy range by Leah Duncan) and it goes so beautifully with a solid yellow, which was a 'slub voile' from Spotlight. I had plenty of this fabric so made just the bodice first to make sure the adjustments I'd made were OK. Turns out it was a really great fit, perhaps a smidge snug (one of the seams was a little narrow on the test pattern, though that has been corrected) but a spot on fit for Miss C. This was made to my model's exact measurements - size 7 chest, size 10 height - so there was a bit of fiddling to make sure I had the right length the torso, shoulder height and neckline. I'm really happy how it turned out and love the detail in the rushed front panel alongside the black piping. 

Blue and white is one of my all time favourite colour combos on this girl! This one for Anya is a size 5, adjusted to size 6 length and the fit is absolutely spot on. It fits beautifully with a bit of room to grow.

Not only was I excited with how this colour blocked panel turned out, the girls both loved it too! Anya was a little sad this spotty dress wasn't hers! A little creative cutting was required and I needed to use a solid strip to get the length I needed for the size 9. I cut a straight size 9 for this one, and while it looks a bit wide on Miss C's shoulders, she is a size 7 around the chest and a size 10 height. The neat thing about this dress now is that we can add another panel around the skirt as she gets taller, underneath the navy blue, without it looking too wacky.

The blue 'raindrops'  was the first Mira dress I made. I'm not super keen on the hot pink front panel, but that's what the girl wanted, so the girl got and she is happy. I made the second one for her because I really wanted to use the blue and white gingham and make her a dress in that!

Overall

• Fit - excellent 
• My favourite feature - the ruched centre front panel
• Self dressing factor - straight sizes easy for 5 year old and 8 year old (size 9) // mixed sizes - consider extending the zipper lower into the dress skirt, especially for a tall slim build. 
• Ease of sewing - beginner to advanced beginner  
• Instructions - clear pictures, well described concise instructions*
• Time - approx 1.5-2 hrs sewing time (took me approx 7 hours to do all 4 including piecing bodice and piping*)
• Would I make it again - definitely YES!

*pattern does not include piecing instructions for the colour blocked bodice or instructions for adding piping. 

Supplies

Pattern: Mira Dress by Elegance and Elephants

Fabrics: Slub Voile //  Leah Duncan, Gramercy, Central Park Fog (Art Gallery Fabrics) // Erin McMorris, Summersault, Raindrops // Shine Bright, Voile Spotlight // Sarah Jane, Sommer, Painted Gingham in Berry 

Accessories: Squirrel & Fink polar bear and unicorn necklaces,  hair Big Bow from Belle Rose Boutique 

xMichelle