Pattern Review: Simplicity 8591 View A and C – Stripy Dream Dress

Pattern: Simplicity 8591. View A (left): Fabric: Country Garden cotton polyester (Spotlight), Buckle: Slide buckle (Aliexpress) Shoes: Miz Mooz. View B (right): Fabric: Gertie Birdie Floral Sateen (Spotlight), Contrasting Fabric: Cotton quilting fabric (Fabric Vision), Shoes: Fordham, Miz Mooz.  

What I love about this pattern

View A 

How creative is the use of stripes in this pattern? The main bodice and skirt are vertical stripes, which are more flattering. Horizontal stripes are used for the belt, sleeve ruffles and band on the skirt. This has a cool contrasting effect that I really like. This effect stands out best if you use a bright print with distinctive stripes like mine.

This is my first time making a completely fabric covered belt! The buckle is actually a plastic square slide buckle that you’d usually use to adjust the length of straps on backpack. I covered both sides with fabric and sewed the layers together. The front looks very neat, but the back side has a lot of stitching on the other side, so I might try gluing the fabric on next time. The belt works extremely well! It’s a squeeze to get the fabric through the buckle, but the buckle will hold in place as I move. Plus, this buckle looks exactly like what’s on the model! 

The back side of the buckle isn't as neat as I'd like so I think I'll try gluing the fabric on top next time. The front of the fabric covered belt is very neat and I'm happy with how it looks!

View C 

The big contrasting collar for this dress certainly stands out! I think the design is classic and suitable for work dresses as well as fun dresses like this one. I made this dress a little extra special by using a border print. The skirt is seamless with the border on the hem. I simply gathered a long rectangle on the crossgrain. All the bodice pieces were cut on the cross grain on the plain selvage. The seamless border print skirt suits the style of design because the original skirt uses rectangles too. 

What I don't like about this pattern 

View A 

I had a few fitting issues with the bodice of this pattern, luckily I made a toile of this dress beforehand! The fit of this dress is quite small, even by simplicity pattern standards. I had to increase the length of the shoulders and bust slightly. I also learnt how to increase the width and bicep of the sleeves. I'd recommend sizing up if you're in between sizes like me as this pattern is doesn't allow as much ease as other simplicity patterns. I think the fit turned out very well in the end and there's very little bagginess in the bodice or neckline, which is a regular issue for me.

Also, the diagrams at the back of the pattern for the dresses are wrong. I looked at these diagrams and bought enough fabric to make view B instead of A! Luckily this pattern is quite generous with the fabric requirements. I managed to squeeze all the pieces onto half a meter less fabric and still pattern matched the centre back seam for the bodice and skirt! 

A word of warning, these dresses are designed to use facings instead of lining. Which leaves the dilemma of how to finish all the seams on the inside. I folded and top stitched all the obvious raw edges for the bodice. I topstitched bias binding onto all the skirt and horizontal raw edges, which looks really neat. 

View B 

I had fewer fitting issues for this dress. Partially because I didn’t have to adjust sleeves and the pattern seems to have better easing as a sleeveless dress. Also, the sateen I used had a small elastane content which gives the fabric just enough stretch to help with the fitting. 

The bicep of these sleeve were quite tight and didn’t allow for much arm movement. I’m not sure whether this is because I’ve gained weight in the arms or because the armholes are set quite close to my arms. This is the first time I’ve successfully widened the cap and bicep without messing up the length of the cap! 

Changes that I made 

View A 

I made this dress very close to as the pattern instructs. There were a few small changes, such as shortening the band on the skirt to get the best pattern placement and adding pockets to the skirt side seam. 

View C 

To spice up this design I used a border print to make this dress. I also pattern matched the centre back seam for the bodice and skirt to give the skirt a completely seamless appearance. 

What I could have done better 

View A 

When I increased the cap of the sleeves I accidentally shortened them slightly. Oddly enough, the sleeve length looks about the same as on the model, but I think I’d prefer if the ruffle on the sleeve covered my elbow completely.  

Also, I should have made my belt slightly longer. There’s only just enough fabric to tighten the belt. I can’t do any fancy knots with this belt. 

View C 

If I made this dress again, I’d use thicker and robust fabric for the collar, or use thicker interfacing. Unfortunately I used quilting cotton for the contrasting collar as it was the only suitable fabric I could find in the perfect shade of purple. The seam allowance inside the collar has imprinted on the collar, detracting from neatness. 

Difficulty 

These dresses are pretty simple in terms of the sewing techniques. If you’ve sewn a few basic dresses then you can sew these dresses! You’ll need to know how to make gathers, sew in a basic zipper and sew sleeves. View C is the easiest, so I’d recommend trying that view first! 

The Verdict 

View A 

The design for this dress is very creative and easy to make. With a little creative print placement you can make a very beautiful dress, the cover dress doesn’t show how unique this easy dress is. Unlike the other views I think this dress looks classic 1960s. 

• Instruction Clarity: 4/5. The instructions are good, but the drawing on the back of the pattern is a very silly mistake.  

• Fit: 3/5. The fit is quite small, even for a Simplicity pattern. Be careful to check the fit of the sleeves even if you think you have normal sized arms. 
• Design Elegance: 5/5. At first glance the design looks simple, but the contrasting striped bands are what set this dress apart! 
• Final Product: 5/5. This is a classic 1960s design which never looks dated. 
• Overall: 4.25/5. 

View C 

In my opinion, this dress looks even better than what’s on the packet! The collar is wide and adorable without looking goofy. The contrasting colour looks great with the border print. I highly recommend both of these views if you love striped or big collar vintage dresses! The styles are classic and flattering for most body types. 

• Instruction Clarity: 5/5. The instructions are simple enough to follow. 
• Fit: 3/5. The fit is very small compared to other Simplicity patterns that I’ve made. 
• Design Elegance: 5/5.  

• Final Product: 5/5. If only Simplicity made more samples of their patterns! The vintage drawing for this view doesn’t show how potentially adorable it is. 
• Overall: 4.5/5.