Pattern Review of the Adult Essential Dolman
Pattern: Adult Essential Dolman Dress
Designer: Ellie & Mac
Fabrics: Organic Viscose from Spotlight
Skill level: Beginner
Size made: XL/XXL
Adjustments: Grading from the bust to waist. I also did a whoopsie empire waist adjustment, read below for more details.
Pros: Great to compliment your shape and lots of options for skirt length and sleeves.
Cons: Because its a dolman style, it is very fabric hungry!
Sewing Summer Vibes: A Slinky Success Story with Ellie & Mac's Weekly Sale Pick
This one has been on my to make list for such a long time, and I’m glad I finally got around to making it. Even better, it’s part of the Weekly Sales over at Ellie & Mac this week.
This pattern has a boat neck and scoop neck and while I thought about doing the boat neck, I really love a scoop neck on me, so I went with that. It also has a few sleeve options and skirt lengths, but I liked the short sleeves and mid thigh for the skirt. Being summer I figured I’d get good use out of it and could also put leggings underneath when it starts to cool down.
Unfortunately I didn’t read the pattern right and ended up taking about 3 inches out of the waist, whoops! BUT, I am really happy with the end result, I would probably just end up adding that to the skirt next time as its *quite* short. haha. Instead of cutting the actual waist measurement, I cut the height adjustment line instead. But as I said, I love the result of this ‘mistake’.
Using a really slinky fabric like the organic viscose meant it drapes so beautifully and its super soft against my skin. There is heaps of ease so I didn’t feel constricted and having the elasticated waist adds definition to my waistline, without emphasizing my stomach, which I am still self conscious about.
All in all, I’m very happy with this one and can see it getting a lot of wear both for the rest of summer and well into the Autumn/Fall months!
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The original pattern is a tiered dress, but I wanted to make it a single tier skirt. Luckily it’s such a simple hack to do. First I finished the bodice. I then took a measuring tape and held it up to the bottom of the bodice while I was wearing it and decided where I wanted the skirt to sit. 
I would make one note, be careful that you take note of the bodice line you are cutting. I cut the regular length for my front but didn’t pay attention on the back and cut the tall. It was a simple fix to adjust, but just be aware and don’t make the mistake I did haha.
I started by unpicking the T from the front. I was really careful and made sure I used a sharp unpick/seam ripper so I would get a clean cut with the threads.
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The Fix: 
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