Be Game Day Ready With This Cute Jersey Dress

This is the dress I saw on line. I just loved it and the color was just right for my son's school. I thought it would be the perfect thing to wear while I sit in the stands and watch my middle son perform during halftime. However, I don’t purchase clothing for myself other than undergarments so I knew I was going to have to make it.

No problem.

I had just the pattern in mind too.  The Game Day Jersey by Love Notions Patterns.

I am an affiliate for Love Notions and will include the pattern info at the bottom of this post for those interested. It doesn't cost any extra to use the links provided but it does help me earn a small percentage to help with creative costs.

First I looked at the pattern’s “finished measurements” chart in the instructions. Based on those I decided to size down one size so that the dress would be more fitted. For reference, I normally wear a medium but I went down to a size small.

Then, looking at the inspo pic I knew I would need to lengthen the short sleeve in my pattern a few inches. To figure out how much, I measured from my armpit to my elbow. I measured the sleeve pattern piece and added enough to get the measurement plus hem allowance. For me I added 3 inches, but I was only accounting for a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

I didn't want my dress to have the side vents that are in the pattern. Removing them is easy because you just fold the flap on the pattern pieces out of the way. The front was shorter than the back by 1 inch so I needed to make those even. Based on all the pics shown with the Game Day pattern I had a pretty good idea of how long the dress would be on me. So I evened them out by taking 1 inch off the back. I wanted the dress to be shorter rather than longer. I’m super happy I did too.

Since I was trying to replicate something, I wanted to do big stripes just like the inspo pic above. For my stripes I would be using some white ponte roma knit. I love ponte knit because it ‘s super stable and doesn’t roll or fray. By looking at the picture I guessed the stripes were 1.5 inches with 1 inch gap between the stripes. The sleeves looked like the hem part under the stripe was 1 inch wide so I would attach my stripe 1.5 inches up from the sleeve edge. That way I could do a 1/2 inch hem and still have 1 inch of red fabric before the stripe. I left a one inch gap between the stripes on both sleeves.

Now for the stripes on the bottom of the dress. In the inspo pic it looked like there was more space than 1 inch between the bottom part and the hem. So I attached the bottom stripe 2 inches from the bottom. That way I could hem it 5/8 inch and have a little more than an inch of red between the bottom and the first stripe. I think it looks more uniform this way.

Attaching stripes to knit fabric can sometimes be a pain. Something I do that makes it super easy is: use a washable stick glue. I apply the glue to the stripe and then press it in place on the fabric. It sticks instantly. I let it dry for a few minutes and then I sew it on using a straight stitch. I don’t like using fabric glue because it’s too stiff and I want the glue to wash away.

Most of my makes are inspired by Ready to Wear. I think my favorite thing about sewing is looking at something and knowing, “I can sew that.” Whether or not Football/Band season happens this year is still a mystery, but at least I'll be ready with my comfy and cute Jersey Dress.

Do you sew clothing just like the pattern says? or do you tweak it a bit to suit your personal style? I think it depends on what I’m making whether I change the pattern a bit. This was a change I was super happy I made.

Happy sewing and pattern hacking,

Koe

Here is some more info on the Game Day Jersey pattern I used for this post. Love Notions does their absolute best to be size inclusive. It's one of the main reasons why I love them so much.

All Love Notions Sewing Patterns are digital downloads, you may print them at home or send to a copy shop. A physical pattern will not be mailed to you.

Ladies Game Day Jersey Features:

• Meant for knit fabrics
• Two lengths: Shirt and Dress
• Two neckline options: overlapped v neck and crewneck
• 2 sleeve styles: short and 3/4
• Split hem
• Full Bust option

Sizes: XS-5X (See Size Charts  here)

Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Pattern Formats Included:

• Print at home for US letter & A4 paper, trimless format with layers
• Large format file for copy shop printing. This file will print on 2 A0 (33″ x 46″) size sheets. Be sure to instruct your printer to print actual size in black and white on their cheapest paper. We recommend  PDFPlotting for printing the large format files.
• A projector file is also included for those using projector technology

Make a Game Day Jersey for everyone!

A  Men’s Game Day Jersey (XS-4X) and  Kids Game Day Jersey (2T-16) are also available. Plus, you can get a bundle discount that applies automatically!