Testing the Justina Top and Dress Pattern

by Johanna Ali | So Very Jo

Hi Guys. I was recently asked by Duana DIY Patterns to pattern test for her new pattern, The Justina Top and Dress Pattern. I, of course said yes! I am so impressed with anyone who has a vision in their head to make something fabulous and then actually does it! This is another winner in my book. I was able to finish my dress just in time to wear it for Mother’s Day.

The Justina Top and Dress Pattern

The Justina Top and Dress Patten by Duana DIY Patterns comes in 3 different views. You can choose to make the top with belt, the dress can be made short or long and you can choose to have flounce sleeves or not. One of my favorite features of this dress are the sleeves. If you know me, I’m all about the ruffle life and these flounce sleeves just give this dress life!

I decided to make view C which is the longer version and I did choose to add the flounce sleeves because as I mentioned, ruffles are life! According to the size chart my bodice is a 14 and the waist and hip area is a 16. I made a straight size 16 but I might make the 14 next time. The dress features princess seams and to be totally honest, I don’t know how to grade in between sizes with princess seams so I went to with bigger size.

Another favorite feature of this dress are my fabric covered buttons. I love make my own fabric covered buttons every chance I get. I used this Dritz Kit I purchased from Amazon. There are instructions on the back of the packaging that are self-explanatory.

I’ve pattern tested for Duana a few times and I made fabric covered buttons for my Ada Peplum I made a while ago. You can read all about it HERE. I also made a quick video I posted over on my Instagram, just in case you’re a visual learner, like me. Follow this link to watch the video.

Now you might be wondering about the fabric I used to make my dress. Well, I used a flat bedsheet I picked up at the thrift store during one of my visits. It’s a little hard to see but the dress is light blue with small white pinstripes. As soon as I saw the bedsheet, I knew I could make something amazing with it. I was holding on to these bedsheets for a while until the Justina Dress Pattern came along.

The instructions are very easy to follow and you should be able to sew this dress up in no time. Duana takes a lot of care into developing her patterns and her instruction booklet is top notch.