Zip It

Make it Perfect Patterns released this little beauty last week

I was lucky enough to pattern test this one before if was released. I actually had a huge week of sewing, it was a busy week with stuff for the kiddos and Scott was pretty much the invisible man in our house as he was flat out at work moving offices - so I wasnt sure I could find time to test this one. As soon as I saw a photo of it though I was hooked. A chunky zipper down the front - nothing could appeal to me more!! This is quite possibly one of the most adorable girls dresses I have ever had the pleasure of sewing.

Zoe is super hard to catch at the moment. I have put this dress on her so many times and she either dirties it straight away, or runs off and it is impossible to catch her. Consequently I have about 200 photos of Zoe in this that are all blurred, so you'll have to take what you can get. This is the back view. I had to let her raid my DVD cabinet to get it.

This pattern consists of an A-line shaped dress, with a cute circular yoke attached. It has super cute curved pockets - which girl doesn't love pockets, and of course, my favourite feature - the chunky zipper.

The staircase climb was the only way I was going to get this picture. This pattern is easy and straightforward to follow. Don't be put off by the zipper - it is easier than it looks and the pattern instructions are easy to follow.

Even though it is coming into Winter here - this dress still works really well as it can simply be layered over long sleeves and leggings. Zoe wore it today and boy was it a drama getting a photo. Zoe has been cranky all week, and has not slept well at all. She is seriously overtired and this is the face I get most of the day, especially if she can't get her own way.

I had forgotten what a challenging age one can be - especially once the walking turns into running. I tried to trap Zoe in this little nook to get a picture. She stole Connor's playmobil car off him on the way through (which made him start crying) and though it was a great hidey hole, but of course would not stand straight on so that I could get a good shot of the dress.

Then I took her into her room in hopes of getting a shot in there, but no, she discovered the pig and just wanted to sit down and put coins in the pig. See how perfect the length is though, it is easy for her to sit down and play without it being restrictive.

So then I tried standing her up and holding onto her while taking a picture. She just thought it was some sort of funny game I was playing and kept trying to come at me and tackle me (you can tell her older brothers play rugby - and practice tackling alot around her).

Anyway, I finally got a semi decent shot of her exiting the cosy coupe - she's pulling a funny face because she has stuffed a lego man in there that was promptly removed.

This pattern gets a 10 out of 10 from me. Perfect for using all those cute patterned fabrics that are available these days without it looking like a homemade disaster, and wouldn't it be stunning in some interesting fabrics for a bigger girl, some tweeds or wool blends, or a plain colour blocked dress, perhaps with piping at the yoke? The possibilities are endless and I'm pretty sure Zoe will have a few of these every time she grows to a new size. You can read my review over at sewing.patternreview.com here if you sew, although it doesn't say too much, it is just such an awesome pattern!!