Review of Jalie 3902 Nicole knit dress

The new Jalie Nicole knit dress reminds me so much of two of my all time favourite knit dresses, bought 30 years ago from Landsend, and worn until they more or less fell off my body.

I liked them so much because they were comfortable, I didn't need to iron them, and I could wear one unit under a jacket to work and still look as professional as I get.

This was the exact same pattern. Here are the line drawings and pattern pieces:

This pattern is a classic case where it might make sense to be a bit strategic about the size you choose. I note that someone with a strong bust line, since the dress goes pretty straight down front the bust, will have more waist/ hip room, as you can see in this pattern cover shot. The drapes fabric also facilitates this too:

For someone like myself, who has a hip/ lower waist measurement very close to my bust measurement, and made up in a fairly firm cotton/lycra, the fit across the lower body is fairly close, right where belly/bum wise I am very curvy:

I love this picture of me - this is the face of a person whose daughter has just suggested Spanx.

Nope, nope and nope. This body has had three kids and one hysterectomy and deserves to just be itself. I am standing firm on that one, even if it's the only firm going on here.

Point taken though. See how the back of this dress rides up? That's because I have a lot of shape back there.

So I know exactly what I am going to do. Just like I moved up a few sizes in the Lisette skirt (love those 20 plus sizes) to get exactly the ease I want, I will be sewing this again in one or two sizes up. 

That should make it just right.

I am so happy to have my favourite dress back and love the look of the mock turtle neck and the short sleeves.

Jalie's 3902 Nikita knit sport top or knit dress pattern

The Nikita pattern was a bit of an adventure for me. 

Here is the line drawing and the pattern pieces:

You can see why this pattern interested me. The way the back wrapped around to the front was cool I thought. 

But because for myself I didn't see doing the open back top, I decided to make a knit dress, view B for my granddaughter Scarlett who never turns down a dress.

So speeding ahead thinking I was making just an ordinary knit dress with a lace yoke I didn't pay enough attention to the shapes (the garment photos from Jalie came out after I made this up). As a result I don't think I really understood this pattern before I made it up.

Now I see the photos from the new pattern cover, I have a much better appreciation of the real Nikita see and how the pattern really should be used.

Let me explain. 

Here is the pattern shot that really explains it all:

As you can see this top, and of course the dress even with its full back version, has large and loose armholes and really needs to be worn with a sports bra underneath.

This is exactly the kind of outfit/top I wish I had on when I participated in my middle son's yoga demo class in Austin Texas a month and a half ago.

That was the occasion when I did a demonstration of my own on how much an older woman can sweat all over her top and her borrowed yoga mat. If you have ever done that you really would understand how a top like this one, that also wraps around to the front so it won't ride up a lot, would be so very useful.

You can bet on seeing a few versions of this in the top version on my in the near future.

Of course this is all something I understand now. 

When I made Scarlett's version we were both initially surprised at how open the armholes were. So open that the first thing I said to her little 9 year old self were "OK kiddo that's a nightgown not a dress."

You will see what I mean in these pictures, which I have left full size, landscape included because this is my daughter's wonderful backyard in spring:

Now this is a great nightgown and I am a more clued in grandmother.

And it has me thinking laterally of a few other uses for this pattern.

First, one of my vintage sewing books has the hilarious suggestion that women try out a new dress pattern by making it first as a nightgown. The hilarious part is that this suggestion comes from the '50s when the dresses had tight bodices and full skirts and I have always wondered just how comfortable those would be to sleep in.

However it also reminds me of the time one of my sisters, desperate to get through the night in early menopause without soaking the sheets, phoned and told me she had found "menopause friendly" nightgowns for only $150 online. I think they were made of linen or something.

When I went back and looked at the dress view of this pattern, and thought about implementing the open back too in the dress, I thought bingo the ultimate menopause nightgown! Or for people like me, who are always telling the spouse to turn the heat down at night and survive only by keeping a window open in the bedroom until some grunting man gets up to shut it, exactly what I need.

So that was my Nikita experiment. Not a dress for a nine year old maybe but a great yoga top for me and a nightgown for myself and all sisters who want one

I am looking forward to making those up!