Colorblock Dress by My Childhood Treasures

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Today we have two reviews of the Colorblock Dress by My Childhood Treasures .  This versatile pattern can be made as a dress or Peplum Top and alows for so much fun in mixing and matching fabrics.  I love how this dress combines comfort and style as a knit pattern that can work with T-shirt weight knits all the way up to stretch fleece.  My Childhood Treasures is offering 30% off this pattern to our readers through 10/23 with the code: REVOLUTION

  • This review was completed by a 3rd party objective reviewer who received a complimentary copy of the pattern in order to complete the review. Neither Pattern Revolution nor the reviewer received any additional compensation for this review.

 

Now here are Sarah and Ellen to share their versions with you.... 

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Hello Again!  This is Sarah, and I am here today with a review of the My Childhood Treasures Colorblock Dress and Top.


So here is a confession, I like knit better than I like woven cotton. THERE. I said it! It's not that I don't love the beautiful cotton fabrics and patterns made with wovens, I do! But when I look at mine and my girls wardrobes and the items we wear most, they are KNIT.  So, when I see a new knit pattern come along, I get pretty excited.


Monkey see, Monkey do!
This new pattern is for both a dress and a shirt, which works well for me because I have two to sew for.  As much as I love coordinating outfits for my girls, I like them to be a little different so they can each feel like they have a special outfit.  

Sometimes they actually get along...
 

The suggested fabrics for this pattern are light to medium weight, interlock or jersey knit.  It has the cute feature of ribbon trim along the collar and wrists of both options, and around the skirt of the dress (which I did not use because my ribbon hated me and kept getting stuck to my presser foot...) 

I was stoked when I saw the pattern called for ribbon trim, because I had some really cool turquoise animal print ribbon in my stash.  The ribbon coordinated with some heavier weight t-shirts I bought during a super sale at my local craft store (I think they were around $2.00 each!) Matched with some medium weight black knit from my stash, and I had the perfect fabric for this pattern.  Yay for hoarding bargain shopping! 



This is the first pattern I've made by this designer and I was happy to see a solid pattern. Very clear instructions, great photos and well drafted pieces. 

Since the outfit is color blocked, there are  more pieces to cut, but the end result is worth it! Plus, the dress itself goes together very quickly. I sewed on the ribbon on my machine but the rest of the garments were serged. It took me about 90 minutes after cutting to construct both the shirt and dress. 


I made the size 4 for my younger daughter,  who is transitioning from a 3 to a 4, and the sleeves ended up a bit too long. The size 7 was an exact fit for my size 7 girl. 

Guess who isn't having fun anymore...











My older daughter said her outfit looked like a space girl (in a good way!) and she really loved the ribbon trim.  The little one loved that she had a dress that matched her sister.  Mom loves that they went together fast and that they will not require ironing after we wash them.  It's a win all around!

This is a great pattern for those knit-loving and knit-wanting-to-try folks out there; and it's a definite plus to have another long sleeved option in my repertoire.  


This is what the photos REALLY look like for most of our shoots!
 Bottom line: this is a great pattern for sewists of all levels and skills.  Now go grab some knit and SEW!
See you soon!
Sarah 


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Hi readers!  I'm Ellen and I'm a self taught sewer and I try to fit in sewing whenever I can!  I have a blog ellzabelle and an etsy shop with the same name.  I am lucky to have a 6 year old daughter and 7 year old son to sew for.  I specialize in custom bandana skirt sets for little cowgirls.

I jumped at the chance to review this ADORABLE long sleeve colorblock dress.  I knew my daughter would love it and it was perfectly my style of simple, modern, and sweet.  I'm not the ruffle/lots of stuff happening kind of girl.  This pattern is definitely my style and is wonderful! 

Some info about the pattern:
  • 45 pages long (24 pages are pattern pieces to print and piece together).
  • Includes 2 options- dress or top with peplum.
  • Uses fleece or interlock fabric-STRETCH!  An entire page with helpful hints for sewing with stretch fabrics (wonderful for me since I'm very intimidated with knits).
  • Sized 2-10 and includes sizing charts, fabric yardage charts, and ribbon yardage charts.
  • Instructions are very clear and include a photo in EVERY step! THANK YOU!!
  • I would rate this as beginner and it took a few hours over two nights to complete.
  • Fit was great.  Didn't have time to prewash so made a 6 for my very petite just turned 6 year old.  Sleeves long and very roomy but expecting it to shrink a bit when washed.
I made this pattern with fleece (can also be made with light to medium weight washable interlock and jersey knit). It's my first time sewing with fleece and it was very easy.  I tend to avoid knits when possible, but loved the fleece.  I do not have a serger and it was still easy! 

My daughter just turned 6 last week and we had a cheetah party so I knew the blue cheetah fleece from Hobby Lobby would be the winner!
As soon as my daughter put the dress on she said "it's SO cozy!"  Instant hit and I know it will be a go to dress this fall and winter.
It is also a great twirling dress!

That is very important to a little girl!
I love, love, love the collar.  It is a rectangle that gets folded down and has a sweet ribbon detail.  I looked for a gray velvet ribbon but couldn't find it, so I settled on a grosgrain with white edges.  Next time I will do the velvet like the pattern photos. 

The only problem I ran into when sewing this dress was that I cut the collar pattern piece the wrong direction on the fabric.  This meant that my collar had no stretch and would not fit onto the neck opening.  Thankfully I had just enough fabric left to cut again with the stretch the correct direction.  *PAY ATTENTION TO THE PATTERN PIECE LAYOUT so the stretch is correct.  That was my only hiccup. 
Ribbon detail on sleeve and skirt.

You can choose to finish the hems or leave unsewn since it's fleece, but I finished them.
Just like being wrapped in a blanket!  A very STYLISH blanket!

Next time I will try the top with peplum that she can wear with jeans or leggings.  Can't wait!
I highly recommend this pattern for fall/winter.  I have not seen many cute and easy dresses for this time of year and am thrilled that I now have this pattern to use (and use till she's 10!).  This was my first pattern by My Childhood Treasures, but I'm sure it won't be my last!  I think this dress would look adorable in an ombre- three shades of fleece, going from dark to light, in one color.  I want to make my next dress like on the pattern:
Loving the gray and pink combo. 
Happy Sewing!