Pattern Review – S9539

Greetings and salutations my friend. Can I still call us that, even though I’ve disappeared on you (again), for such a long time? It’s a new year, but I’ve obviously brought over some ‘bad habits’ from 2022. Sigh, forgive me, and since I haven’t said it yet… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! *cue fireworks lol

You’ll be pleased to know that I HAVE been doing some sewing (though not nearly as much as I’d like). You’ll be less pleased to hear that the picha teking and blog writing kinda backslide these days. Chuh. Anyways, me hope you know me love you still, and to prove it, I’m back to offer you a little entertainment and a pattern review. 

Soooooo lately, I’ve been on a Mimi G kick. I mean, I’ve been a fan since the days of the ‘Jessica’ Dress and I’ve bought several of her patterns since then, but for some reason, many of them remain in my stash, unmade. I threw a poll out there on Instagram, and discovered that several other sewists own MANYYYYYY Mimi G Patterns, but have not made them up. One sewist reached out to tell me that her Mimi G patterns were a collection for display! Whilst I love looking at her pattern covers (cas she brings a certain VIBE to her outfits), I also feel the need to put my money to good use, you know?

That brings me to the newest item in my #memade collection.

I bought some black and some white rayon twill from Mood fabrics well over a year ago. I usually purchase fabric ‘on a whim’ without having any particular make in mind, but this time, I kinda did. I KNEW I wanted to make a colour-blocked half black, half white wrap dress. Just so you know how serious I was, I only bought 1.5 yards of each fabric so there would be little opportunity to maneuver away from my initial idea. After I finished making up S9329 (which still needs to be photographed and blogged about), I felt the need to make up another Mimi G pattern. I rifled through my stash and pulled S9539.

The Pattern

S9539 is a true wrap dress pattern (hooray!!!!). It comes in two size ranges (from 4 -12; 14-22) in the misses version and two size ranges (18W-24W; 26W-34W) in the women’s range [sold as S9540]. Talk about size inclusivity! You go Mimi!!!!! I bought the larger size band in the misses envelope and graded from a size 16 down to a 20. The pattern has two views: A – with the longer skirt and sleeves; and B – with a shorter skirt and short sleeves. I decided to make view A (with the long, cuffed sleeves) and paired it with view B’s skirt – which I still shortened an additional 2 inches! I didn’t see Rayon Twill on the fabric suggestions, but I figured given the weight and drape of my fabric, it would work just fine. 

Fitting Fundamentals

I traced off a size 16 blended to 20 at the front, and a 16 to 18 at the back because I carry most of my weight in the front. I wanna blame it on my 2 kids, but my love of French Toast doesn’t help either!  This surprises no one, but after grading my sizes, I made several adjustments for fit. 

The Process

Anybody else solicit’ s hubby’s (or anyone else’s feedback) mid-way through a make? I sometimes do and other times, he’ll see me trying on a make in the mirror and offer his unsolicited advice *insert tons of eye rolling here!

Well, I completed the bodice and skirt of this dress, pinned them together and twirled around a couple times in the mirror. Hubby was nearby but, surprisingly, he said nothing. I turned and asked ‘what do you think of’… and I kid you not, before I finished asking the question, he blurted out ‘I don’t like it at all!’

Y’all.

Y’ALL!!!!!!!

This damn man put a spoke in my sewjo immediately!

Naturally, my attitude, and that of my 5 alter egos, emerged one time and I tossed my project aside for the night. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure how I felt about my dress when I tried it on. The excitement I often feel when I try on my in-progress makes was absent and I was in an internal warfare: complete it or not. Sooooooo, to hear my husband make such a bold declaration, knocked me for six and I was ready to wave my white flag (or maybe just the white half of my dress) in defeat.

IDK if it was the sewing god’s telling me to keep going, or maybe Mimi sent a message with the universe, but by the next day, I was back at my machine, ‘black n white’ wrap dress in toe! I added the collar and the sleeves and dared to ask hubby again, ‘what do you think now’, hoping deep down, for some redemption. It. DID. NOT. COME!

Instead of grinning and telling me that I saved my project; he stated (a little too loudly): “I still don’t like it. It looks like a robe!” My face must have betrayed me, because this time, he quickly added “finish it and let’s see”. Big looooooonnnggggg dutty strupes

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Fast forward some….

I’m happy to announce, the joke is on him!!!! I unenthusiastically finished the damn dress. Pressed it, and chucked it on over my fishnet stockings, paired it with my sling backs and some pearls and this man, THIS MAN, had the nerveeeeeeee to tell me ‘shit, babe you look so hot!’ hahahahaaa

Moral of the story? Maybe something cliché like “its not how you start, its how you end?” or “the race is not for the swift, but those who endure to the end?” ooorrrrrr maybe its as simple as “hubby has NO sense of fashion… make him eat his words every time!.” You won’t believe how I’m cracking up typing this but it’s a true story folks! Mister tried to rain on my parade (though perhaps not intentionally) and ended up drowning in drool instead.

Now that it’s done and dusted, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my wrap dress. I think it the first true wrap dress I have ever made and I think the two tone is tres chic. I mean, y’all already know I have a thing for black n white! Just go check my IG feed if you don’t believe me. 

The construction of this dress was pretty straight forward IMO. I hardly paid attention to the pattern instructions, but I did watch the sew along over on youtube. I think the hardest part of this make, was actually the cutting out of the pattern and handling of the fabric. The rayon twill has quite a lovely drape, but that also made cutting out more difficult. I starched my fabric when ironing and cut out my pieces singularly and with a mat and rotary cutter. This made cutting more manageable but still challenging. Also, I didn’t have enough fabric to ‘mess up’, so I needed to be careful to make sure all of my pattern pieces were cut on the ‘right’ side of each fabric. The twill has a subtle texture on the ‘right side’, so I needed to get that right in order to execute my vision of the half black and half white dress. Whew, how many times can you say ‘right’ in one paragraph?!

In hopes of adding a little more interest to my make, I opted for a black pocket and collar and I’m happy I did that EXCEPT I didn’t nail my pocket placement. When I placed the pocket (with the bodice flat), it looked straight to me, and my top markings matched up, but now that its been sewn up, the pocket looks sorta skewed…but hey! My mom use to say ‘every spoil is a style’, and I am definitely NOT redoing the pocket. I feel like the holes from unpicking the thread are bound to be evident and I choose a wonky pocket over holey fabric any day!

I had two black and white printed buttons in my stash that I used for the cuffs of this make. I think they tie the look together beautifully. 

A pattern piece is included in the envelope for the inner tie. Even though I used the recommended size, I think the tie is a little too long. This, I’ll actually fix. Throughout the day, (especially when sitting), I noticed a little more cleavage than I signed up for, on display. Don’t get me wrong, I generally don’t mind some cleavage, but since this dress is for work, I don’t wanna end up flashing the judge. Ha! Else I’ll be writing my next blog post from the confines of His Majesty’s prison. 

I did pre-wash my fabrics (separately of course), and I’m already scratching my head about laundering the finished garment. I’m praying that the black stays where its supposed to stay, and not discolor my white… though I think this will be one dress I’ll actually take the time to handwash. 

Final Thoughts

I really like this pattern and would totally recommend it to you. I think it will be a breeze for an intermediate/advance sewer, but I also think a beginner could manage this pattern especially if s/he follows the sew along (and perhaps make the shorter sleeves). Initially, I didn’t think I would make this dress again, but I definitely wanna give it another go in a different fabric. 

Come help me fill up the hashtag for this make over on IG!

Gotta luv ya and leave ya…

Until next time,

xoxo

Kris