Emery dress by Amelie and Henri Patterns

Today we take a look at the oh so adorable new release from Amelie and Henri.  They never fail in their classic styles with a nod to vintage eras and enough details to simply make you fall head over heals in love.  The newest release is the Emery Dress and our girls have quite a bit of eye candy in store for you today!

Here are Cassie and Serena to share their cuties and their stunning creations....

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I am super excited to share with you my most recent pattern review. I have been oohhhing and ahhhing over this pattern for months now and just totally geeked to be able to sew one! Cassie here, from Lily Shine Boutique, to review the Emery dress by Amelie and Henri Patterns. 

The Emery dress is a vintage inspired drop waist, button back dress with an adorable pleated skirt and big bow. It definitely has a wow factor, and a unique look that really caught my attention. Vintage inspired patterns are super in style right now, and are great for a modest and delightful look!

I like big bows, and I cannot lie!! I made the bow removable while washing the dress so it would stay pristine.

The bodice has a really sweet center panel, with the option to line in lace. I found this quirky flamingo argyle fabric by Donna Dewberry for Free Spirit for the bodice and a beautiful minty polka dot by Robert Kaufman for the skirt. 

The fabrics made me envision a Florida golf course, but of course I had to settle for the Klipper Course on Oahu. Check out the charming pink lace lining the floral panel detail in the bodice. You can choose to omit the center panel and make the front bodice out of one fabric piece instead. You can also add a lace band between the skirt and bodice to really add detail!

The pattern has pattern pieces for the front and back bodice, the rest of the pieces are cut from a measurement chart. I found that the fabric requirements chart was extremely generous, for a size 4T I used about 1/2 yard for each the bodice and skirt although the chart called for 1 1/4 yards for each. I would consider this pattern to be intermediate due to the button back and pleating details. I sewed this one up during nap time, which in total took about 2.5 hours from cut to finish. 

If you have a button hole foot for your machine, you'll be golden! For tips and tricks in sewing on buttons using your machi, check out this great tutorial: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/08/sewing-tips-attaching-buttons-with-a-sewing-machine.html

The straps are attached in the front bodice and loop through two fabric loops on the back, buttons or snap finish for a custom fit. There are no measurements on how much to loop the straps, so you'll need your model on hand to adjust for fit. 

The pattern gives directions on how to pleat the skirt, but no set measurements to use to create the pleats for each size. I had to play around with my pleats for a bit before getting them all evenly spaced and lined up with the sides of the bodice perfectly. That was the most time consuming part of the pattern, so once you muscle through the pleats you're practically finished! 

My daughter has worn this dress for three days in a row now and I am guessing I'll be sewing many more Emery's up in the future. It has just enough twirl for her liking, and I think she feels mature and elegant in the drop waist fitted bodice. It would be great layered for school or with a cardigan for cooler temps. 

I hope you enjoyed my review of the Emery dress! 

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It's Serena again from Serena Garcia Photography! This is the Emery dress from Amelie & Henri Studio, I swoon! Keri designs such sweet dresses that are meant to be passed down from generation to generation. This dress is a drop waist simple dress with lace, buttons and a huge bow that give it the ‘custom’ look. My daughter is a 2t in ready to wear but I made a size 3t and it fit great in length but it ended up being a little snug on the backside. This would probably fall into the Intermediate sewing level, a few hours and it’s ready to wear!

 

- Pattern goes from sizes 2t-10 (this would be great for school uniforms with a little altering).
 - Cutting chart for straps, bows, skirt, etc.
 - Fabric recommendations. - Finished Measurements.
- Fabric layout for cutting.
- Tons of pictures in tutorial, makes life so much easier!
- Every pattern piece is marked with name of designer and name of pattern.



The top is boxy and a great look but check waist measurements against the finished width to assure you’re making the correct size. The pattern calls for lace down the middle bodice but you could use piping, ric-a-rac, or even just leave it open to give the dress a different feel. The straps can be adjustable with an extra sew in snap, easy to grow with. This whole dress hides all seams, everything is sewn in and with a lining so that there’s no ‘itchy’ parts for those finicky toddlers!
   


The skirt is pleated and easy to construct, the lace needed a little sew down on the sides to make sure it didn’t fold up when she was wearing it but I think that was my poor choice of lace. The lace is necessary if you ask me, it adds the special touch this dress deserves. The one thing I did a little different was tack the bow down at the top of the bow folds so that it would wash and stay put, if you use a heavier weight material on the bow it’ll just flop down. My daughter loved this dress and was dancing around in it all night, it’s a must have!