I am Patterns - Irma Dress

 

I was busy scrolling on my phone when I saw the most beautiful shirt dress pattern. The Irma Dress and Shirt by I Am Patterns. This pattern company was completely new to me. I have never seen their patterns or made any of them up before so with my Christmas money I bought the pattern, had a good look at it and decided which view and style I would make.

This is a roomy pattern and is designed to be very loose. I compared my measurements to the size chart and made the size 36. I am normally a size 38 in Burdastyle patterns. The pattern features two length options and two sleeve options. The dress version has a high/ low hem, concealed button placket and a deep back pleat, sewn in a flowy fabric that will swish beautifully while a more structured fabric will carry the shape well. The shirt version has an even hem and is just a little lower than the waist. It has the same button placket and back pleat.
The sleeve options are a standard shirt sleeve and a balloon-shaped sleeve with gathers at the cuff.

I decided to make the dress version. This pattern is drafted for 5ft 5in height. I am taller than that so I did a bit of investigating about the sizing of this dress and to see if I needed to make any initial alterations. After reading a few reviews I added 2.5cm to the length. I think this is just about right for me, and as I used a baby hem for the finish the length was perfect. I didn’t alter the length of the sleeve. I made the full gathered version and despite measuring my arm length and thinking this would be ok - it is a little short. To solve this issue instead of using the cuff pattern piece I doubled the width of the cuff, which gives a little more length, but it’s still a little bit too short. I will be adding about 5cm to the length of the sleeve for my next version.

Otherwise, the pattern is well-drafted and the instructions are pretty clear. It came together super quickly and I’m very happy with the result. This will be getting lots of wear as it’s a perfect transitional piece of clothing.

When I decided to make the I Am Patterns Irma dress I knew that I wanted something with some movement, but not too shifty and tricky to sew. I also didn’t want a stupidly busy print and I’m not really a fan of florals - with a few exceptions! I decided to use a viscose as I knew that the drape would be good. I noticed this fabric as I was browsing the lovely fabrics on Minerva and the slightly woodblockish design of this fabric had me hooked. I ordered the required amount for the pattern, but really could have done with a few cm’s more to allow me to lengthen the sleeves. I will know for next time!

As usual, I prewashed the fabric on my normal 30 wash. I did overlock the cut edges as this type of fabric can tend to snag and pull in the wash. Being quite light it dries quickly, even in my slightly cool house and pressing it was a dream. Medium hot iron and just a little steam and it was perfect. It was pretty stable to sew with. I did use a little side table to support the weight of the bigger pieces to prevent stretching while sewing, but had no issues with anything stretching out of shape. Due to the design of the dress, I interfaced all the plackets, cuffs and collar to give some structure in these areas.

I sewed this up using a microtex needle (my favourite type). I only used the overlocker to neaten the seam where the sleeves and bodice meet. Elsewhere all the seams are enclosed. I even took the time to do French seams on the sides/ sleeves as these would be visible due to the high-low hem. For the same reason I created a baby hem - It takes a bit longer but is worth it.

The only issue I had with the fabric was a few times when the threads snagged on the needle. I think this would have been way worse if I hadn’t used a microtex, but it would have benefitted from a slightly finer needle.

Enjoy all the swishiness of this dress.