Sewing Pattern Review: The Jessica Dress From Mimi G Style

Honestly, when I first got this fabric I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. But the more I looked at it, the more the flannel kind of reminded me of those 90’s shows like My So-Called Life and The Secret World of Alex Mac (I was a young child in the 90’s) where it’s perpetually fall for some reason and everyone is always wearing plaid flannel. Then I asked myself what Clarissa Darling would do, and wearing a midi button-down flannel dress with jeans and a beret seemed like the right answer, so off to work I went.

See? Any girl who wears contrasting bell sleeves and 2 pairs of shorts obviously approves of the dress over denim trend. I rest my case. In Clarissa, We Trust.

As far as construction goes, this was a fairly straightforward make. I will say though, I found Mimi G’s Jessica Sew-A-Long video on YouTube to be much easier to follow than the written instructions that came with the pattern, so that may be worth looking up if you’re a beginner like me.

As far as modifications go, I didn’t change much apart from the straps. I doubled the width in order to make it a bit more bra-friendly. I also pulled the pockets out a bit before sewing to get the gaped look that I think serves the laid-back attitude of this 90’s inspired dress well. What do you think?

The only issue I ran into with this dress is the gaping at the bust. This is entirely my fault though- I think if I had just shifted my buttons up about half an inch each on the top, it would have solved the problem completely. I’m not too worried about it though, since it isn’t too revealing and is nothing that some tailor’s tape won’t fix!

QUICK + DIRTY DETAILS:

PATTERN: The Jessica Dress by Mimi G Style

FABRIC: Plaid Flannel from Minerva Crafts (gifted)

NOTIONS: Black buttons from my stash ( similar)

SIZE: I made a size M based on my measurements:

• B: 38”
• W: 31″
• H: 40″
• Height: 5’4″

ADJUSTMENTS: Doubled the strap width to make it more bra-friendly

KNOWLEDGE OBTAINED: That it’s more important to place buttons where you actually need them, then figure out spacing instead of just placing them where they look aesthetically pleasing. I totally could have avoided some serious bust-gaping otherwise!

Happy making!

-XO-

C