Lately I’ve been on a roll with finding amazing dress patterns I love. I’ve been wearing dresses nonstop this summer (thanks to the hookworm) and I gotta say, they are soooo comfortable! And you don’t even notice when you gain an inch around your stomach. That said, I’m blaming Hasimoto’s disease. I’m full of all kinds of blame in this post! Onto the dress:
This is the Mama Joy from Made For Mermaids. I’m loving this one because it’s a perfect wardrobe staple and only uses 2 yards of knit fabric. When I buy pretty fabric but have no clue what I’ll make with it, I always buy 2 yards. Lately some of the dresses I like need 3, so that puts a damper in my stash-busting situation. Mama Joy to the rescue! The only requirement is that it’s a medium to heavy weight knit like scuba, ponte or liverpool and needs to have 30% stretch. These requirements work for my stash, so I’m happy.
The dress is actually very similiar to LuLaRoe’s Amelia dress. I love that dress because it’s super flattering but I’m not trying to pay an insane amount of dollars for a simple dress anymore (Disclaimer: I currently own two Amelia’s that I got discounted). With this pattern you can make a high-low peplum top, knee length dress, or a maxi dress. There’s also an option for a zipper in the back (or not). If you want to make an exact copy of the Amelia, add in the zipper and you’re good! There are three choices for sleeves: short, 3/4 and long. Two choices for neckline: high or scoop and the waist is pleated.
For my wearable muslin I made a size Blue at the bust, graded to Green at the waist and hips. I get why they go with the color chart for sizing but it’s also frustrating to try to always remember what color combos you are. My measurements were 36-32-41. (I love how my waist and hips can easily grow but not my boobs ::eyeroll::) I didn’t make any alterations to this one. The black and white polka dot dress is the muslin but the waist is WAY TOO HIGH. I mean, is that empire waist? I don’t even know. I do know it’s not flattering. This one is made from ponte:
On the next dress I added 2″ to the bodice length but I think that just a tad too long. I do have a long torso, so adding an inch(s) isn’t anything new but I did notice a bunch of people added 1″ to theirs on in the M4M Facebook group. There are two other things I changed: pockets and waist elastic. I didn’t care for the pockets that came with the pattern, they are shallow and not big enough. I ended up using the pockets from Patterns For Pirates Raglan Add-On. I have that pocket traced and ready in my supply drawer because I use it all the time. You could use the one that came with the Mama Joy pattern and just draft it a bit deeper if you wanted – or maybe you’re not a pocket snob like me and really don’t care?! The other change was adding 1/4″ braided elastic around the waist. I did this just for more snug fit. I cut 29″ and overlapped it 1″ then zig-zag stitched it on. Hopefully it doesn’t make the waist look too bulky? It’s also made from scuba, so that could also be why it looks a bit fuller:
On the third version I ended up making a bust size Blue and waist/hips Indigo (Indigo is one size down from the Green). This one has 1.5″ added to the bodice and it’s perfect! Hooray! I also added the braided elastic and this one is made from scuba. I was going to make a fourth one out of ponte or liverpool just to check on the bulkiness but gave up because a new shiny pattern caught my attention.
The directions are super simple and there’s even a video if you get hung up on the pleats. I can make this dress – from cutting the fabric to hemming – in under 3 hours, which is amazing when you have a 3 year old stopping you every 10 minutes. I have plans to make a ton more of these in the future. They are a great stash-buster and waredrobe filler for sure! I also love that they are perfect for work and basically cover every season because you can just add tights and boots for winter. All of the fabrics I used are from my stash and from JoAnns. The two scuba ones they don’t have anymore but they do currently have the black/white ponte.
Overall, great pattern and super flattering! Go make some dresses!