Watcha Wearin' January- Battle of the Sheath Dress

Have you ever been completely debilitated by indecision? I'm about to make your life harder. LOL. #sorrynotsorry

You see today, I'm going to be doing a head to head of three sheath dress patterns. Without giving it all away, I can tell you, there's no clear winner. Sorry. BUT, I can break down the features so you can decide which will work best for your specific need. Let's get to our head to head.

For reference of our Head to Head, my measurements are: 35" over bust. 39" Full bust. 31" waist. 39" hip.

Love notions Tessa Sheath Dress
Drafted for Sizes: XS-XXXL
1 Skirt option
5 sleeve options (Sleeveless, short, elbow, 3/4, long)
2 necklines (boat or scoop)
Back seam
Optional Yoke (can be used for wovens)
Fabric: Medium Weight Stable Fabric with 20% stretch

I made the size medium, blended to a size small hip. I did a 2" FBA and rotated the bust dart out of the side seam. I shortened 1/2" above the bust, 1" at the waist. 1" at the shorten/lengthen line and 2" at the hem.

I used a firm french terry for my yoke and a light weight cotton lycra for the bodice. This is NOT one of the recommended fabrics as it is not very stable and is mostly drapey.

I liked that this pattern skims the waist and then comes back in at the hips.

Hey June Handmade Charleston
Drafted for sizes: XS-3XL
2 skirt options (sheath and a-line)
7 sleeve options (Sleeveless, ruffle sleeves, square sleeves, short sleeves, elbow sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, or long sleeves)
1 neckline
Optional back zipper
Fabric: Stable Knits with 30% stretch

I made size Large, blended to a size Medium at the hip. Pattern said I may not need a full bust adjustment. I made zero adjustments to the length of the pattern. I did NOT do an FBA.

This pattern has a TON of pattern pieces and therefore a TON of pages to assemble. There are separate bodices for a sleeveless versus sleeved pattern. The princess seams take a lot more time to sew up than a t-shirt style pattern.

This pattern is quite fitted from bust to hips.

George & Ginger Drama Dress
Drafted for sizes: XXS-2XL
2 skirt options (sheath and flare)
4 sleeve lengths (sleeveless, short, 3/4, long) with either hem OR band
4 necklines (basic, keyhole, collar or tie)
Fabric: Lightweight Knit with at least 50% stretch

I made size Medium (10) and did a 1" FBA. I knew I would be using fabrics that had at least 75% stretch, so I knew I wouldn't need as much "extra" width. Pattern includes a shorter skirt cut line. For the purposes of this comparison, I will ONLY be talking about the sheath pattern.

For this pattern I did NOT remove length from the overbust. The armscye was already quite small and it looked as if the bust point would be close to where I needed it to be. I was correct. I did however, stupidly remove length from the hem. Never do that. LOL.

This pattern sews up super fast (no more time than a t-shirt) and the fit was pretty good without me having to make any changes. I like how loose it is in the waist and how it then skims over my hips.

Final Decision

Truth is I like all 3 for different uses. This is a case where each pattern has something different (and important) to offer.

While you could put a yoke on the Drama or Charleston, you can't just go putting a woven yoke on anything. So the Tessa definitely has that covered.

The princess seams on the Charleston are awesome and a great way to color block. If you're patient and really love playing with a french curve, you could add princess seams to the Tessa and Drama. I don't have that kind of time in my life to play with those curves to get them right. If you were going to add princess seams, the Tessa at least has the bust marked so you could make changes from there.

The Drama is meant for those flowy soft fabrics. That means you can have a sheath dress in rayon spandex or double brushed poly. To get a similar fit in the other patterns, you'd definitely have to size down and play with the armscye.

But, if you're going to hold me to picking just one, I would painfully say that the answer is the Love Notions Tessa. Why? Because of all the body markings you could make the princess seams yourself. And, if you own the Sybill Illusion Skirt, you can mash that in here and you have a ton of different options.

If you're like me though, and like to hoard patterns, you can't go wrong owning them all.

Have you been fully inspired this week? Don't forget to check out my fellow bloggers and link up your #watchwearinjanuary to the linky party for a chance to win!
Sunday, January 22nd: Sewing By Ti , Embrace Everyday
Monday, January 23rd: Sewing By Ti, Tenille's Thread
Tuesday, January 24th: Robynne & the Bobbin, Harper + Lu
Wednesday, January 25th: Mahlica Designs
Thursday, January 26th: Sew Sophie Lynn, Creative Counselor, Crafty Like a Rox
Friday, January 27th: Everything Your Mama Made and More
Saturday January 28th: Sewingly Michelle, Sewing By Ti, Wild and Wanderful

An InLinkz Link-up

Ti

Hi, I'm Ti and I'm so happy you're here. I'm a self taught seamstress that loves to focus on good fit, well drafted patterns and of course, FABRIC! As a self proclaimed fabric-aholic, it only made sense to open a fabric store, thus, Simply by Ti was born. Here on my blog, you'll mainly find work that I've done for myself and my family. I am always looking to expand my sewing abilities and spend a lot of time learning new fitting and sewing techniques. I aim to provide objective, honest, creative content that will keep you actively engaged and wanting to read more.