Let us sew cake, let us eat cake!

WSBN (Wellington Sewing Bloggers Network) did a cake sew-along for the month of July. Cake patterns that is.

And then we all got together for high tea to eat cake while wearing our cake patterns.

The amazing selection of cake:

The talented ladies of the WSBN (there are so many of us!):

Details of my make

I was tempted to buy the Tiramisu pattern when it was first released (it was the first pattern put out) I think I didn’t end up buying at the time as I was pregnant and didn’t know if I would have any sewing time after baby arrived.

Sizing: Cake patterns have a special way of doing sizing to cater to variously proportioned bodies. I cut my pieces out with a 40″ back, bodice front in 45C (gathered onto 40″ waistband), 37.5″ waist/skirt, and the skirt length cut down to 50″ markings.

Fabric: Firm, not very stretchy knit (poly) $5/m but I had purchased 4m.

My reasoning when like this. . . Reading the envelope “Hmm, I need 2.7 for my size, but I will probably need to lengthen it so I’ll get 3m”. At the fabric store “I needed 3.something? I had better get 4m!”

What I like about this pattern

• I love that the stretch on the front bodice is diagonal, it works to make the bodice fit really well. It means it works for me whether I am wearing a bra or not (a new requirement for my sewing!).
• I can easily breastfeed in this dress. If a were to make this in such a firm knit again, I would cut the neck binding along the stretch rather than across it, and maybe add in elastic into the binding. But that may not be necessary in a softer knit.
• Pockets! Need I say more?
• Comfort and ease of wear. I think this pattern may convert me to being more of a dress wearer. I *aspire* to wear dresses, but find myself consistently reaching for pants and tops in the mornings. I spend all day getting up and down off the floor (to play with babies) and the skirt is full enough to still be modest when sitting cross legged.

What needs changing (to fit me)

I couldn’t find anywhere on the pattern or website what height this pattern is designed for, and there weren’t any lengthen lines on the pattern. This is one of the reasons I used the 45 piece on the front instead of doing an FBA on the size 40 (the other reason might be because I’m lazy and this was a simple option!). I also cut the skirt pieces down to the 50 markings so I had plenty of length to work with. I did end up trimming quite a bit off the hem, but mostly at the front, so I would probably take the length to the 45 line next time. I also think a smidge more width in the waist band would not go amiss.

The sleeves bind my arms a bit when reaching up. I think this is a combination of the lack of give in my fabric, and where the sleeve ends up sitting due to my wide shoulders. When sewing up the shoulder seam, I trimmed off the extra length of the shoulder seam in the front 45″ pieces so they matched the back 40″ piece. Next time I will extend the back shoulder seam when I cut it out to the length of the 45″ piece – a very simple wide shoulder adjustment!