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Simplicity 3503 Pattern Review

March 4, 2013 by Abby 8 Comments

Simplicity 3503 - view A

As you might know from the blog’s Facebook page, we have internet finally! I’m slowly getting back into the blogging habit, but it’s taking longer than I thought…sorry!

I made this dress a while ago to add to my maternity wardrobe. The pattern itself is not maternity, but the placement of the gathers and the use of knit fabric makes it comfy for my growing belly. I think the cross over on the front will also work for breastfeeding too which is a bonus!

I have used this pattern more than any other commercial pattern I have. I’ve made 4 dresses for myself with it and one for a friend. I’ve used ‘View A’ every time. Depending on your fabric choice you can make a casual or formal dress. I’ve made one with a stripy cotton stretch knit that is super casual I feel like I’m in a nightie all day, but another with a nice printed stretch poly that’s a bit dressier. It’s also knee length.

I’d highly recommend this pattern for anyone wanting to take on knits or make something for themselves. There aren’t a lot of pattern pieces and once you’ve done all the gathering it comes together pretty quickly. The pattern versions give you a lot of options so you could make a whole bunch of these without them being the same.

I couldn’t help myself, so I made a few changes along the way:
– I’m only 5’4″, so I took a bit off the length…probably 8″. It looks a bit short in the picture at the bottom, but for the version pictured I used a piece of fabric I already had and that was the most length I could get out of it.
– I left out the pockets. Because I made it as a maternity dress, I didn’t want the pockets gaping or stretching.
– The biggest change I made was to draft a new back piece. The back is more like a t-shirt on this version, whereas on the original version the back looks like the front with a cross over. I also did this on my casual version. (Picture bottom right)
– I also shortened the midriff band. In my other versions I left it at the original length, but I wanted the waist to be high on this so that it would sit over my belly.

Take a look at me wearing it with my 27 week belly. Every time I see a picture of myself I think I need to work on my terrible posture, so I sit up nice and straight for the rest of the afternoon, but by the next morning I forget. Anyone have any good tips to make me stand tall?

For more reviews on this pattern (and lots of others) check out patternreview.com. I always check there first before starting a pattern. It can save you a lot of headaches!

Simplicity 3503 - view A Simplicity 3503 - modified back

Linking up at Make it Wear it Thursday

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: Clothing, Pattern Reviews, Patterns, Sewing, Things for Mums

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lauren R says

    March 4, 2013 at 11:47 am

    Heya!
    What a great idea, can’t go wrong with that dress shape pregnant or not. 🙂
    As to the posture thing, I had a similar problem (as a chef, ten+ years of being bent over a cutting board took its toll!) and my physio trained the muscles by initially strapping my back. It felt heaps better!

    Reply
    • thingsforboys says

      March 4, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      It does flatter a lot of different body shapes. Thanks for the physio tip, I’ll have to check it out.

      Reply
  2. A little bit Country says

    March 4, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    I had very similar dresses when pregnant with my boys, but had them at knee length. I also found that with the crossover front I was able to wear them in the early baby days for breastfeeding x

    Reply
  3. Ashley P says

    March 5, 2013 at 6:45 am

    Cute!!! I’m hoping to make myself some maternity dresses out of non-maternity patterns too!

    Congratulations on the new baby 🙂

    -Ash P
    http://distractedashley.blogspot.com

    Reply
  4. Laura says

    March 5, 2013 at 8:42 am

    Looks like a great pattern to have. I really like the way you alternated the stripe for the band on your casual one. You should get loads of use out of all of yours.

    Reply
    • thingsforboys says

      March 5, 2013 at 8:50 am

      The band looks nicer with the stripes going the opposite way to the dress, but it means that the band has vertical stretch, so it always looks like I didn’t cut it straight. I do wear them all the time though.

      Reply
  5. michael ann says

    March 6, 2013 at 2:14 pm

    Darling! I lived in a knit dress the last couple months of my pregnancy, they are such a life saver.

    I’ve been trying to work on my posture too now that I’m hunched over feeding or holding or wrestling my tiny man and I’ve found that yoga has really helped. After doing some intense shoulder stretches they loosen up and just sit back on their own! Until of course I pick the little guy back up… Haha!

    Reply
  6. Jenny Young says

    March 7, 2013 at 7:51 pm

    Looking awesome Abby! I really should take on that pattern – too much on the to do / make list! Nice to see you back here 🙂 Jenny x

    Reply

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