Shirtzie Top and Dress - Stitch Upon a Time

It’s funny how I was never really into dresses before I began sewing. I certainly had some for special occasions, but never wore them outside of those instances. Now that I can say I made a dress, I made this, I am starting to come out of my fashion shell. While the days of sweat pants and comfy tees are not gone, they are more evenly balanced with garments that are made by me. And this dress is definitely something special. Oh, and this pattern is going to be on sale through the MONTH of August!!!

The Pattern

The Shirtzie Top and Dress from Stitch Upon a Time is not just one pattern. Even in the name you can tell you are going to get more bang for your buck with this pattern. Not only can you make it into a shirt or a dress, there are many other options to choose from!

Fun Fact: This pattern is the sister to the popular Brazi pattern. That means that like the Brazi, this too is designed to be worn with or without a bra. That also means that the bodice and skirts for both patterns are interchangeable!

The amount of mixing and matching you can do with this pattern is amazing!

A regular or Cross Front Bodice. Three different sleeve lengths, all with or without a band. And 5 skirt lengths….. WOW!

I had a hard time choosing at first, but ended up choosing the Cross Front Bodice, short sleeve and knee length for the dress. OH! And adding in some optional pockets like I did is a game changer!

My measurements put me in size Medium (4). The lead measurement for this pattern is your bust!

The Fabric

I have learned a VERY important lesson when it comes to fabric while making the Shirtzie. Turns out, one yard is never enough. Ok, maybe not all the time, but if I want to have fabric readily available for a project at any given time, a minimum of 2 yards needs to be ordered. At least from my experience, I plan on buying at least 2 yards of any given fabric, if no particular project is already planned.

This pattern calls for Knit fabric with at least 40% 4-way stretch.

Belle Floral Scuba

With that, I found myself to be actually pretty limited for fabric selection with this dress. While I certainly could order more fabric, I really wanted to use a fabric from my stash. Enter in this beautiful Scuba from Surge fabric Shop!

Now you might be wondering what Scuba fabric is. Scuba knit is a double knit fabric of finely spun polyester that creates a very smooth, low luster sheen and full bodied drape on garments. This particular fabric was a medium weight which does make it a bit heavier, but provides an excellent shape to the skirt of the dress. Since I have higher hips, having a dress that has a bit more body to it is a great thing as it follows my curves before tapering out at the hips.

The Sewing

I don’t know about you, but I am a very visual person and find that I need to actually see how a process is done in order to fully understand it. Take for example the cross bodice I chose, along with making a lining for it. I don’t know why, but I just could not wrap my head around how exactly to combine the outer fabric and the lining. Thankfully, the instructions provided with this pattern are very well written and provide pictures for every step of the process! So well done, in fact, that I didn’t even need to make a muslin! This dress was my first try! But it certainly won’t be the last!

Once the cross over bodice was put together, it was very easy to construct the rest of the dress. The way the band is installed was actually quite different from what I am used to, and to be honest, provides a lot more stability tot he dress. This is perfect when using a heavier fabric like scuba.

Final Thoughts

I am always a huge fan of patterns that give you multiple options to try. It makes it feel like you bought multiple patterns, for the price of one. By my count, I technically have another 10+ dresses I could make from this pattern and no two would be exactly the same!

The Shirtzie is designed to be snug in the bust which I did find to hold true. I think next time I will grade the bust to give just a little bit more room (not quite a whole size) or try wearing the dress without as supportive of a bra to see if that gives me a little more room.

This is a great pattern to add to your sewing wardrobe and arsenal with how much versatility it has. And with the pattern being on sale through the month of August for only $8.50!