Hey friends, Jamie Rich back again. I’m delighted to be able to do a guest spot on the George + Ginger blog for a second time. You’ll usually find me over at www.instagram.com/whiletheyweresinging with my own makes and at www.instagram.com/plottwistthreads where I collaborate with a friend. Go check both out! You won’t regret it!
Anyway, on to why we’re here today. I love my With Love (get yours here with my affiliate link- https://georgeandgingerpatterns.com/products/the-with-love-dress-womens-sizes-pdf-sewing-pattern?aff=66) probably more than any other pattern I have. One of them gets worn at least weekly, no joke. Well, this time around I decided to change it up. They’re such simple changes that have such a big impact on the final look. I’m all about more bang for my buck. We’re going to walk through adding a butterfly sleeve to a dolman top but I’ll show you the other changes I made as well.
Assemble your pattern. Don’t forget to make any of your standard alterations that you would typically do (FBA, shorten/lengthen, etc). Don’t cut out the top half just yet. It’ll come in handy in a minute.
To begin, I narrowed the neckline just a tad. About half an inch. I wanted this to have a V neck, so I drew that. Having made it before, I know the original neckline sits fairly high so I was comfortable with bringing it down three inches.
Next, from where I narrowed the neckline I started measuring out to the original end of the sleeve. Mark a spot about 6-8” above the end of the sleeve, depending on how full you’d like yours to be. Now draw a line from the neckline to that height. Round out the sleeve a bit past where the lines are, bringing it down to just about an inch past the bottom sleeve line, then draw up to connect.
The last change I made was to move the side vents to the front. To do this, I measured about how far apart I wanted them to be and added half an inch for seam allowance. I then took half this distance and measured from the fold on the front skirt piece. Transfer your vent markings.
Getting started, baste stitch a V onto the bodice. Skip the center of the V almost down to that basting stitch. Continue with the pattern instructions. You may choose to serge the rest of the binding, but do use your regular machine for the center portion to get the sharpest V. The rest of your construction will go according to the pattern with the exception of the skirt. You’ll now have three front skirt pieces. Sew these together to the markings, then proceed with the pattern instructions only making the vents on the front instead.
You’re all done and now you have a fabulous dress! I hope you’ll share your makes in the group. I’d love it if you’d tag me when you do. Thanks for reading and hope to see you again soon!!
-Jamie ❤️