Make It Perfect Skippy Dress

Back in August, Toni from Make It Perfect contacted me and asked if I’d like to be part of a blog hop showcasing her newest patterns, the Skippy and Joey dresses.  The Skippy dress is the women’s version and the Joey dress is the girl’s version.  I thought the dress was really cute so I jumped at the chance to make it.   I like that there are a bunch of different options included in the pattern.  There is a cap sleeve, elbow length, and long sleeve option.  I also really liked the cowl neck option.  I deliberated and decided to make the elbow length sleeve with the basic banded neck.  I  wanted to be able to wear this dress year round and I thought the cowl might limit it to Fall/Winter wear.  I used my favorite Laguna Jersey in Grass for this dress.

I was sort of nervous about the sizing.  The dress looks to be cut pretty straight and I am a definite pear shape.  I cut a medium through the bust and graded out to a 1X at the waist.  I cut the skirt at a size 1X, too.  I cut the sleeves at the size large because they looked like they might fit me too snugly.  I actually think next time I would go up to an XL (or maybe just slash and spread at the bottom) so the sleeves would be a little looser.  They are gathered so increasing the size of the sleeve would just make them a bit more puffed at the top.

After I had the skirt attached tried on the dress I decided the bodice was too long.  The waistband was not hitting me at the best part of my hips so I ended up unpicking it and cutting off an inch from the bodice.  This shortened the kangaroo pocket a bit, but it’s still a good size for my hands to go in.  Next time I will know to shorten the bodice before I attach the pocket.

Once I was done making the dress I decided to try making a cowl from my leftover fabric.  Mine ended up about 3 inches shorter than the measurements in the pattern, but I had enough width to make it work.  I love the way that the cowl is assembled to give it a twisted look.  I absolutely love the dress with the cowl and that is how I’ve worn it so far.  I think it looks so stylish and more dressy than just a regular t-shirt dress.

Speaking of the pocket, this dress is named after the fun Kangaroo pocket on the front.  A Joey is a baby kangaroo, right?  I thought it was very fitting since I am currently in the process of creating our own new baby!  (How I wish it would just crawl out of a pocket on the front of me when it’s ready to come into the world! Ha!)  I am 18 weeks pregnant with our 3rd baby and so far this dress seems to be able to accommodate a small-ish baby belly.  I know I will be trying this pattern again next Spring when I am no longer pregnant.  It was a quick, fun sew with a very cute result.

Thanks, Toni, for the Skippy pattern and for letting me be part of your blog hop!

~Teri

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