Maxi dress season continues! Meet Layla. My friend @liv_evon accidentally suggested that I give the dress this name, but I like it lol.
Layla is made from Simplicity 8635.
I made view A for the front and used the pieces from view C for the back, all in a size 10. I used a silky print fabric from Joann’s.
- 4 darts on the front bodice
- Interfacing that made the darts harder than they should have been to get smooth
- Thin straps that needed to be turned right-side out
- Pockets
- A zipper
- Lining for the bodice
Upon first impression of the pattern in the fabric store, I thought this would be a quick, relatively easy project. However there are several elements that made this dress just a tad bit tricky to construct:
All of these elements meant it took me a couple of extra days to finish than I’d originally anticipated. There is a questionable seam right up the middle of the skirt that you can’t see due to the pattern on the fabric. As others who have reviewed this pattern have mentioned, it’s pretty useless unless you are going to add a split up the middle of the dress (which would be cute. I may try that next time). If not, then I would suggest just cutting that piece on the fold so you dont disturb the pattern on the front of the dress.
The directions could have been better with better pictures, but I feel that way about most of the big pattern companies.
The front for view A has a modest v-neck and you need to clip into the seams of the v-neck to get it to lay flatly and so the lining won’t pull forward and be visible. The directions dont specify to do this for view A, but does for the other views.
Overall I like the way this dress turned out, especially the back. Next time I think I will use a half-circle skirt. The gathered skirt it comes with is fine, but I think a half circle skirt would be more flattering.
Overall, because this dress was a bit more tricky to make than I’d anticipated , I would recommend this for a bit more experienced sewer and give it a 2 out of 4 rating for difficulty (1 being very easy and 4 being for more advanced seamstresses). Rating:🧵🧵
Pattern: #simplicity8635 #8635
Made by: Me😊
