The Best Classy Spring & Summer Dresses to Sew | Simplicity 9326 Pattern Review

Ladies,

If you are looking for a classy square neckline midi length dress, here is a sewing pattern for you. I have made this dress a whopping four times with only two successes. Do not let that detour you, but having said that, I would classify this pattern as intermediate, maybe even advanced. This sewing pattern has a sew along video on youtube that will guide you through the steps, which is how I even discerned the pattern instructions. But if you have any experience with sewing at all, you may have learned that it’s not just understanding the instructions but doing each step with precision that makes the garment look good.

I sewed view A which is a midi length sleeveless dress with no ruffle and no slit in the skirt. I sewed it in two different ways. My floral dress was re-designed with a higher neckline all around front and back and the straps were widened. I sewed a polka dot dress with no modification to the straps just a raised neckline for a petite/modesty adjustment because on me it was much too low on the bust. My polka dot dress also got a skirt from a different pattern. Both ways that I sewed view A bodices worked beautifully.

Aside from choosing the right fabric for the pattern, the fit of your garment is what makes a garment shine.

I spend a significant amount of time and effort perfecting the fit of a garment. I trace all of my sewing patterns and if you are new to sewing that means that the pattern remains uncut. This allows me to greatly adjust the pattern for fit. First, I adjust the pattern pieces that I trace out so that it is as close to my shape as possible for each time I use it. Second, I do many tiny alterations to the garment adjusting the fit on the body as I sew it.

This dress was made with a rayon challis fabric in a floral print on a purple background from fashionfabricsclub.com

Size Notes

Size Used: 12 bodice. 12 skirt. This is my standard size in sewing patterns and it runs the same as the average size 12 in my opinion.

Petite Adjustments

I traced a smaller armhole and shoulders, grading to a size 10 in the armholes & shoulders. I altered the shoulders even shorter in the try on phase.

Raised waist 1″.

Other Adjustments

The dress was too wide and floppy at upper back. Reduced center back panels 1/2″ slim upper back adjustment.

The shoulder straps were too straight across and needed to be angled for sloped shoulders. Reduced shoulder straps 3/4″ at inner shoulder to 1″ at outer shoulder sloped shoulder adjustment.

What worked without fit adjustment

Skirt worked as drafted.

Fit Adjustments are typical with any pattern. Very few people fit into a pattern without adjusting something to fit their particular body shape. But I do more than fit adjustments with my patterns, I do a fair amount of re-designing pattern pieces to achieve the exact look I prefer and/or achieve a level of modesty that the pattern does not offer as is.

Design Adjustments

Raised side front & front panels 2.5″ for a higher neckline. Raised side back and back panels 3″ for a higher back. Widened shoulder straps 2″. The straps as designed are narrow, barely covers bra straps and pulling the fabric through them is a comical squeeze.

Seam allowance changes

I did not do the 5/8″ seam allowance on the bust princess seams, I did a 3/8″ seam allowance to keep the bust from being too snug, which it was with the original seam allowance of 5/8″. This also allowed the belly area to drape better eliminating cling to that area.

How many times sewn this pattern

Four times.

Describe each creation

One was a successful bodice but used a different skirt pattern (navy blue with white polka dots dress – rayon crepe faille fabric), even though I successfully sewed the skirt from this pattern I decided to not use it. I don’t remember why but I think it was because I forgot to grade the bodice at the waist to the one size up of skirt I had made for it. In other words, I had made a 10 bodice and a 12 skirt but I had not graded the size 10 bodice to a size 12 at the waist to match up with the skirt size. This dress does not have the shoulder strap widening adjustment & the neckline was only raised 2″ from original pattern, I later raised it to 2.5″. I don’t remember if I raised the back of the polka dot dress. The polka dot dress is a bodice size 10 and yet, fit perfect. But in the purple rayon challis, the bodice is one size larger at 12. I think the difference is although both are soft “liquidy” fabrics, the challis has slightly more structure and less give than the rayon crepe faille fabric which worked great with a size smaller. Fabric determines so much of how a size fits. Sizing must be done according to how the fabric behaves as much as body measurement and finished garment measurement is referenced on the pattern to choose a size.

I sewed another (failed) bodice with a plisse fabric and that did not lay right with the grooves of the fabric. I sewed another (failed) version with a charmeuse and a lining that was too thick apparently and the charmeuse did not lay right over it along the neckline.

I sewed this one (the 4th) with rayon challis for the outer dress and the same fabric as the lining and it worked as good as the first dress with the rayon crepe faille which was lined with a medium/light weight polyester interlock fabric.

What I love about this dress

I love the sleek shape of this dress but that it accommodates wide hips and derrière without clinging (if the correct size is sewn). I love the square neckline. This is a classy shape that will work as a summer dress or an evening dress depending on the fabric.

Pattern Instruction likes or dislikes

The instructions were confusing to me. I made a lot of notes on this pattern so that it comes across clear when I sew it again. As an example, of something confusing: it shows a pattern piece of the skirt laid so close to the fold that I thought it was supposed to be cut on the fold. But written on the pattern piece is “cut 2”, which means it can’t possibly be cut on the fold. Well, which is correct? After being flabbergasted at this supposed contradiction, I realized that in the line drawing of the pattern piece layout on the fabric, there was the smallest gap between the pattern piece and the edge of the fold. The gap was so minute it took me a long time to realize it was laid very near the fold but not on the fold.

As another example of something confusing: It never says to clip the square neckline before under stitching. This is knowledge they expect you to already have about the proper sequence of steps in sewing, which is why I label this as a more advanced pattern. The square neckline was not laying well enough to even understitch it which is why I ended up researching if I should clip the neckline first and then understitch. YES. But I did not know this, and the pattern certainly did not mention it. This is not friendly to beginners at all. I think we all appreciate a step being mentioned that would make the next step even possible!

Again, I had to reference a video online to clarify how to even make this dress.

Most Challenging Part

Mark the square neckline points (the dots on either side of the square at each corner at the front. Those are the pivot points and need to mirror each other exactly or the neckline will look crooked. The neckline needs to be perfectly cut with zero misalignment of the fabric, or it will not lay symmetrical on the neckline. This is more difficult the more “liquidy” the fabric.

I have yet to sew the version with the ruffle and would only attempt that once I had mastered the fit and skill of sewing this dress.

Would I sew it again

I did not enjoy sewing this pattern but I like the look of the dress. I will consider sewing it again.

Would I recommend this pattern

While I would not recommend this pattern to someone learning to sew, we are all different. This is how I learned to sew. I just chose patterns that were clothing I wanted to wear. Every question I had was researched until I sewed the pattern. Sometimes this took me weeks, even months to complete projects. If you have a fair amount of experience sewing unlike I did when I sewed this pattern, this will most likely be just fine for you. Their instructions warranted my warnings anyway.

Happy Sewing!

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