New Pattern! Bonn Shirt and Dress

I am crawling out of my blogging absence to show off the newest pattern by Itch to Stitch: the Bonn Shirt and Dress. It comes in shirt or dress length, as well as options for short, three-quarter, long, and flounce sleeves. There is a lovely v-neckline and a contoured collar. It looks like a stand collar but lays flat against the neck. I tested both the dress and shirt lengths, with a three-quarter sleeve for both. Behold, the smirk shirt:

If it is any indication of how much I love this pattern, it was good enough that I broke out my beloved purple fabric to make the shirt. I've been holding on to this bit of deliciousness for about three years now. I also used some fun peacock feather fabric for the dress length. It's gorgeous fabric, but not as "me" as I like to wear. But an ultra purple solid? Perfection.

Beautiful fabric, silly kid

The pattern went through thorough testing and came out with a great fit. Once the pattern was completed I made only a few changes to the final shirt so it was perfectly fitted to my own body. The only cosmetic change was raising the v-neckline by an inch. I probably didn't need to do it, but I never regret an extra touch of cover up.

I like the shirt both tucked and untucked. The first time I wore it was to church, tucked into a black skirt. I kept it on all day to go to the in-laws' house but swapped out the skirt for a pair of jeans. I took the pictures at their house. It's way swankier than mine.

As always, the pattern instructions were clear and easy to work with. I really appreciate that the designer uses standardized measurements in the design process, rather than making something to fit her, then grading the pattern out from there. It makes such a difference in getting a good starting point for adjusting the pattern to fit your body. My own typical adjustments include shortening the waist (or sometimes just a swayback adjustment), widening the shoulder, and using a larger sleeve size.

Swayback adjustment=no pooling at my lower back

The Bonn Shirt and Dress pattern is on sale now for 20% off the regular price. A great bonus is that you can get 15% off your purchase with two or more patterns, so it's great if you want to get more (use code "dream"). With fall coming quickly, my next project is the Liana Stretch Jeans. And about a billion of the Lisbon Cardigan, which is one of my favorite patterns ever. Go grab some Itch to Stitch patterns and get sewing!

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