In my latest on “The Sewing Table” Holiday/winter post, I mentioned that planned to make the Jennifer Lauren Handmade (JLH) Mayberry Dress.
As part of the JLH pattern reviewer group I was given this pattern for free to review, however, the opinions of this review are all my own.
The Mayberry Dress
If you’ve followed me for a while you know that I’m a big fan of the JLH Gable top and have made a few versions of that top now.
So it’s no surprise when Jennifer put out a call for reviews I jumped at the opportunity and was lucky enough to get selected for the Mayberry Dress.
This is actually a dress I’d been eyeing for a while. I really liked the casual everyday look of the dress while still having a retro feel about it.
The Construction
The JLH Mayberry dress was a surprisingly quick and easy project, so much so that I actually have another version on my cutting table as we speak.
This dress is a great everyday dress good to wear around the house or to run errands.
Depending on what fabric and accessories you choose it can also easily be dressed up, making it a great wardrobe staple.
| Sewing Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Dec 28 |  |
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| Pattern: | Jennnifer Lauren Handmade Mayberry Dress | |||||
| Version: | Long sleeve version | |||||
| Size: | 18 graded to 20 | |||||
| Notes & Modification: | Graded 18 to 20 at the waist | |||||
| Recommendations: | ||||||
| Difficulty: | Intermediate Beginner | Ratting: | ||||
Construction Notes
- Fit– The fit is really nice. I made a size 18 grading to a 20. The dress is meant to have a lot of ease and the drawstring waistband makes it easy to tuck in or loosen up when needed.
- Construction– All the pattern pieces matched up for me. The only issue I had was my fabric choose was a bit slippery so when cutting it came out a bit skewed but not enough to really make a difference in the construction.
- Instructions– The instructions were really easy to follow. I especially liked the instructions for using the seam allowance as the casing for the drawstring. I hadn’t done this process before and found the instructions helpful.
- Pattern Printing– I printed out the copy shop version as my husband has access to a plotter. Unfortunately, the plotter paper wasn’t wide enough so I still had a bit of taping to do but it took only a minute or two to put together.
- Any other thoughts? I love the pockets as they are the perfect sized pockets. I also really like the long sleeves and how they hang. Finally, the asymmetrical style of the front bodice and semi-shirtdress feel I think really makes this dress stand out.
More to Come
As I said earlier I already have another one of these dresses on the cutting table and that won’t be the last.
One of my favorite things about JLH patterns is that they are very practical but still have a very retro vibe to them.
This is the last dress of 2017 but I’ve already got lots of plans for 2018. With that said I’ll be taking a little break in January to prep things for an all-new season of Akram’s Ideas. Stay tuned for season 3 starting on February 3. In the meantime, I might add a few posts to blog during my Youtube hiatus and of course, I’ll be active on social media.
What are your plans for 2018? Have you made the Mayberry dress, what did you think of it?
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