first make of 2014 - lola dress by victory patterns

I know I haven't finished my Top 5's of 2013... but didn't want to wait to show you my first sewing project of the new year, Victory Patterns Lola dress!

 

I had picked up some medium-weight, heather grey sweatshirt fabric at a surplus/salvage store for something around $3/yard. Looking at the opposite side, I suspect it's some kind of performance fabric. It washed great, and I still have 1 1/2 or so for another project! I also had plenty of matching grey ribbing in my stash from a Fabric.com sale.

 

The Lola pattern is a casual sweatshirt dress, with princess seaming, raglan sleeves and a hi-lo waistline that's actually quite flattering. Makes for a dress that's super cozy without being frumpy. I purchased the PDF version, which meant taping all those pages together before cutting the pattern out. That part took more time that the whole dress construction! (Or at least it seemed like it!) I made a size 8 with no alterations and it fit great, although I did accidentally loose some length at the waist because I sewed the skirt on backwards and had to cut and re-sew.... oops! 

Everything was constructed on the serger, aside from the little triangle at the neckline and the top hem of the pockets. My seams came out a little wobbly as I'm still learning my serger, but for a sweatshirt dress like this no one will notice! The pattern includes notches to line up along the princess seams and other curved seams, which I thought was a great benefit for easing those curves.

I love the raglan sleeves and princess seaming... so flattering!

I would totally recommend this pattern, and hope to make it again. And looking ahead to my  new year sewing plans, it seems that 2014 is going to be the year of the indie patterns!

How about a iPad selfie to end the post? Until later!