For some reason I’ve become a little obsessed with finding the best woven wrap dress pattern. This means that I keep trying different patterns to find the one. Today, I’ll be talking about the Simplicity 8735* pattern I got some time ago with an issue of Sew Magazine.

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Usually, with Simplicity patterns I tend to need to shorten the bodice by 2-3 cm above the bust and size down. However this is not the case for all the patterns in this range, which means in the past year I’ve had a few fails because I raised the bust apex when I did not need to or cut the wrong size and the finished garment did not fit me too well. This taught me that I still have to check the fit before I cut into my main fabric.

Therefore, before I cut into this lovely brushed cotton* I tested for Minerva*, I made a wearable toile. One of the reasons why I prefer wearable toiles to toiles made of muslin/calico fabric is because doing so to me feels wasting time and resources. Besides sometimes the wearable toile is perfectly fine.

Starting with my body measurements and knowing that my back is a little short I decided to start with view A in size 14 cup size B and shorten the skirt by 10 cm. I used a fabric already in my stash that I have no idea what it is apart from being a dressmaking cotton mix blend.

The construction of the dress did not take long. I did not need to use the instructions as the pattern is quite simple.

The fit of the finished dress is good, although I found that the shoulder was to wide compared to my body. I was surprised that it did not have more ease as the samples on the pattern envelope suggests.

I think the D rings closure works for my figure as it keeps the waist flat. The sleeves on me look a little longer than on the model on the pattern envelope as I made no adjustments to the sleeve piece. I’m quite happy that this turned out to be a wearable outfit.

Sewing Summary:

Pattern: Simplicity 8735* : These Misses’ and Miss Petite knit or woven dresses have a lovely wrap style, featuring a flared or slim skirt, length, and sleeve variations. Pattern includes separate pattern pieces for B, C, D and DD cup sizes.

Sizing: H5 (6-14) U5 (16-24)

Fabric: 2 m woven cotton mix

Notions: 1 small button

Modifications: I made a combination of view A. I cut size 14, for the front bodice I used the cup B pattern piece. On the back bodice pattern, I made a swayback adjustment of 1.5 cm to account for my short back. Also, I shortened the skirt by 10 cm (4″), I am only 1.57m (5ft2″) after all.

Instructions: I do not follow the instructions most of the time apart from checking hem/seam allowances and look at the diagrams, so I cannot really comment on how good or bad they are.

Fit: it was ok, but the shoulder seems to be a little to wide for my body frame. Keep in mind that I did not shorten the sleeves to match the length of my arms so they look longer on me.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?: yes

Watch out for: In general, Simplicity patterns for me feel they have a lot of ease and I tend to size down. However, this patterns does not have as much ease as I expected. My advice is to stick with the size your body measurements fall into

Make Again?: yes. On my next version I’ll need to shorten the shoulder by 1 to 1.5 cm to bring the sleeve cap into the right position on my body.