I have been in a bit of a sewing rut so far in 2018. This weekend, I decided to do some internet searching this weekend to find some new inspiration for a quick and satisfying weekend sew. I had been seeing the Going Home Dress from Ellie and Mac all over Facebook that I had to give it a go myself!
The Pattern
The Going Home Dress is a raglan style knit dress with a variety of different options. It offers three lengths – shirt, tunic and dress, three sleeve lengths – short, 3/4 and long (with a cuff) and two neck options – a standard neckband or cowl.
I have been obsessed with cowl necks since making my Bellavista top, but wanted my first Going Home Dress to be a tunic style banded neckline.
As this is a fairly simple pattern, there isn’t a lot to say about the instructions – they were clear and straight forward. The pattern also features no-trim pages which makes putting together the PDF a breeze (my favorite!) and layers which makes my lazy cutting of the paper patterns a lot easier. The pattern has a ton of information in it about sewing with knits and making a pattern which makes this a great pattern for a beginner.
As a bonus, the pattern is super inexpensive. It’s only $4.75 and currently on sale for $3.80.
The Dress
As I mentioned above, I chose to sew up the tunic version. I work Saturdays throughout the months of January and February and thought this would be a good casual Saturday outfit. I usually don’t wear tunics with leggings – I am more a jeans girl than a leggings girl. But, I saw so many cute versions on Facebook and Instagram, I had to give it a go!
I am falling head over heels for raglans – I love the lines of them, I love how they fit, I love making them – all of the above. That being said, I think I would have been happier with the short length of this pattern. I like longer shirts, but because I have short legs and am short (quite the opposite of Maddie’s #sewingtall), this hits me a little lower than a tunic but a little too short to be a dress.
Also, I sewed up the medium, which was pretty spot on my measurements, but I feel like it just falls straight down without a ton of shaping. I don’t think sizing down would help as it fits pretty well through the arms, but just too straight in the body of it. But, I think if I made the shirt version, I wouldn’t have a similar feeling because It’s fitted through the bust but then looser at the hips. I think this was just a tunic fail.
As the pattern was so inexpensive and I do want to try out the cowl shirt version, I don’t think all is lost. There are so many raglan patterns out there but I still really enjoy trying different patterns – because I find new patterns full of inspiration and I like to be able to share with all of you!
The Fabric
I have been staring at this fabric in my stash since I bought it from Style Maker Fabrics. I am in love with sweater-ey knits recently – especially with how cold it has been this month! This is a double knit that feels super similar to a sweater kit. It’s super comfy, really warm and not itchy at all. I’ve said it before, but Style Maker Fabrics has such a great selection of sweater knits and double knits – so if you’re in the market, make sure to check them out!
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