I was recently asked to test drive a new pattern made by Ana at CocoWawa Crafts – the Marshmallow dress! (What an awesome name by the way!)
The pattern is for a trapeze (or tent) style dress with a big ruffle on the bottom, options for short or 3/4 length sleeves and a collar. The back of the features a button closure (FYI you don’t actually need to use these buttons to get in and out of the dress in case you were worried. I always worry about how I’m gonna do up the buttons myself when they’re on the back!).
I made one out of a gingham printed rayon type thing. (I have absolutely no idea what the actual composition of this one is since I got it in a non descript store in Walthamstow market…). But composition doesn’t matter to me as long as the fabric suited the project! And this one did! The gingham had a lovely drape to it which I felt was important with this design. My concern about using anything thicker/ stiffer/ heavier would be that the dress would have too much body and would make me look humongous!
I opted for the longer sleeves and no collar for mine and cut a size 3.
It’s not too bad right? It’s definitely not as “cute” as the sample images which is a good thing for me – I can’t really do cute to that scale anymore. I’m still not a huge fan of dropped waists on me but since the style of dress is so loose anyway I don’t think it really matters. It’s definitely a very relaxed dress and very comfortable so if you’re looking for something like that then you’re in luck!
12 Comments
I love this dress, specialy the front, but I think it would fit better in a smaller size
Probably. Though the arms are definitely on the right side and couldn’t go down a size for me! If anything a size up would be better there!
Cute! The buttons on the back are something I haven’t seen before.
How did you get involved with pattern testing? I see on your blog you do this quite a bit.
Hey! I’ve done it twice and both times I was asked directly if I was able to. I know some designers will put out calls for testers every now and then. They normally pop up on social media – instagram and the like – and then you’d have to be picked for it. Designers like to have a variety of sizes and body types to test usually. Hope that helps!
I’m not very good with social media….Mainly because my phone is too rubbish to cope with it. Just ok interested as noted a few other bloggers saying that they have tested patterns.
I often look at these patterns but shy away from them b/c I’m afraid like you they will end up looking like I’m hiding a much larger body inside than I am 🙂 This looks so cute and I really like the idea of using gingham for a muslin. All those squares make it such an easy sew.
Thanks! It’s always hard trying to pick out good patterns that I know will look good on my body and sometimes I just need to try new things! This one is definitely not going to make me look my skinniest but sometimes it’s all about how you wear and style it to make it work!
I’ve seen this dress a lot on Instagram lately and I think this is one of the better ones that I have seen. I don’t usually go for this sort of shape because it has two things that I’m not sure suit me (drop waists and bigger shapes) but after seeing this I might give it a try 🙂
Thanks! It’s not a shape for everyone – quite tent like and with the dropped waist… Not always the most flattering! I do think with the right fabric and styling it works quite well though!