One Thimble Blog Tour: Issue 21 — Camden Dress

It was fun being a part of the One Thimble Blog Tour for Issue 20 last year (blog post here), and I’m very happy to be a part of it again. After a one-year hiatus, One Thimble is back with a new format. Instead of 10 new patterns for $25, it features 4 new patterns and 4 pattern hacks (based on patterns in past issues) at a lower price of $12. As in the past, it includes various sewing articles and discounts. To find out how you can win a copy for yourself, read on until the end!

Of the four new patterns, the one that caught my eye first was the Camden Dress by Jilly Atlanta. I had seen tester photos by two local sewists here in Singapore. The one by Angie Chia is a cute colour-blocked version made with quilting cotton (IG post). The other, made by Siska Taslim with Nani Iro double gauze and piping, is absolutely pretty (IG post). Both sewists were very helpful in responding to my queries. If you’ve been following the blog tour, you would already have seen the dresses sewn up by Brooke Smith and Melissa Malice.

Some of the fabric recommendations include lightweight linen, cotton and rayon. I was plagued by decision paralysis after being sent the pattern on Monday, as I had aimed to finish sewing and taking pictures on Wednesday. Somehow, it was tough finding suitable fabric that my little Miss would like and with sufficient yardage in my not-too-small stash! I finally decided to use a classic baby blue and white striped seersucker by Robert Kaufman, purchased long ago from Fabric.com. I had used the same fabric to make a vest for my baby boy — which I didn’t blog about and only posted on IG (as I have been doing quite often this year). I think a fancier fabric could have had a prettier result, but a simple one accentuates the pattern itself.

To give it an extra dose of cuteness, I added a Putitdepome embroidered iron-on patch featuring a mother elephant and baby elephant. It’s Japanese in origin and purchased from a local online shop Nekoneko Fabric, which ships worldwide (you might have already heard of it!). The iron-on patches are so adorable I wish I own more but I had exercised self-control and purchased only one for each of my kids. This design, as well as some others, is still available here.

My 5-year-old was sporting enough to visit the library with me at around 9 p.m. for photos, even though it was past her bedtime, and was rewarded with a DVD and two books. The library was closing for the day so we did not have time to linger.

More about the pattern in general. The dress has dolman-style sleeves, either short or elbow length, which have different pattern pieces. It comes in vintage and knee length. The neckline is finished with a bias facing and there’s a button placket at the back for two buttons (Miss A chose pink ones for hers, as expected). It is available in sizes 2T to 14. One interesting feature is the deep hem, 2 inches for the two smaller sizes and 3 inches for the rest, which accommodates growth spurts very well. I like the curved waistline seam, which is different from usual.

Miss A’s chest and waist measurements hit the 3T size exactly while her height is at the taller end of the size 5. If the dress seems very long, it’s because I added 9.5 cm or 3 3/4 inches to the size 5 knee-length skirt — by mistake! I did not lengthen the bodice as I was afraid the armholes would gape but on hindsight I should have done that in order for the bodice to have more ease. It should actually be 2 cm or 3/4″ longer. I was not clear at first how to lengthen it but now I realise, after chatting with Angie, that I should have used the size 5 bodice and adjusted it to fit the 3T width. It’s not entirely new to me but somehow lots of things just slipped my mind when I was rushing this out.

For your chance to win a copy of the new One Thimble Issue 21 — Spring 2019, please enter the rafflecopter prize draw here — open until 12 a.m. Friday September 6th AEST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We have some amazing bloggers joining in to share their makes this week. We were excited to celebrate the release and relaunch of One Thimble. Be sure to check each one out on the tour and show them some love.

August 30

August 31

{Spools+Oodles} of Fun

September 1

September 2

September 3

September 4

September 5

Beri Bee Designs

Idle Sunshine Tour Wrap Up!

If you’ve read until here, thank you! My daughter is sending you her love with Korean finger hearts. One Thimble Issue 21 is available for purchase here.

Happy sewing!

Angeline
{S+O} Fun