Sometimes on social media, there’s a pattern you often see and just fall in love more every single time! The Pearlie by Peach Patterns is one such garment for me! Every time I see this dress, I think, “I really need to get that pattern!”
Finally I pulled the trigger this week and just grabbed it! It’s a quick sew, so I was able to get it taped up, traced, and cut out on Thursday night, and then sewn up in about an hour on Friday morning. If you’ve never bought a pattern from Peach Patterns, be sure to sign up to their newsletter so you can get 10% off your first purchase.
My husband is a member of a nearby maker space, so on Friday night he decided he would make magic wands for our kids. One um… avada kedavra’d itself… while he was turning it on the lathe, so we ended up with one wand for now. A little Photoshop magic and I really love how these wand shots turned out! ❤
About the Fabric
The baby dragon fabric is part of the current preorder from Affordable Fabrics and More (ends September 8, 2019). The print also has a coordinate which I used in my son’s outfit, but didn’t incorporate into this one. I paired it with solid purple Art Gallery Fabrics cotton lycra since I had some I wanted to use up, but the Simply By Ti eggplant is a little closer and brighter if you’re wanting a great match!
About the Pattern
The Pearlie comes as two purchase options – either as the original dolman dress/tunic, or with the sleeve/multi-skirt option add-on. I opted to buy the whole bundle so that I could incorporate the other variations in the future.
This pattern comes with a slim fit and relaxed fit bodice. I used the slim fit for mine, but sized up so that we could get more wear out of it. (I used size 2 waist and 4 height – my daughter was exactly a size 1 and 3).
I used the gathered original skirt and used their suggested shirring elastic method for the gathering. I’d never thought to use shirring for gathering knit fabric and it did make it a very painless process. Definitely a method I’d consider again in the future since I have a MASSIVE roll of shirring elastic in my stash that I picked up dirt cheap at a fabric liquidator a few years ago.
To simplify hemming the curved skirt, I ironed some Emma Seabrooke Fusible Stay Tape to the hemline (I cut it to 1/2″ wide). I really love this company’s stay tapes – I keep a bunch of them in my stash at all times! (Free shipping too, but I usually buy them from Fabric Mart when I’m buying other things 😉 ).
One thing to note is the inside hem is noticeable when you make the hi-lo version. I used white thread on my coverstitch looper because I was too lazy to change to gray. I could possibly color over it with a Sharpie, but for now, we just get glimpses of white every now and then!
The neckline has two band options – narrow and wide. I went with the narrow and then messed it up, ripped it out, and sewed it back in. It’s a bit wonky as a result. I would consider doing a wide neckband next time, or even switching to binding instead.
Overall, a satisfying sew, and I can see why so many people make a bunch of these all at once!
Link Summary
Disclaimer: I received this dragon fabric from Affordable Fabrics & More in exchange for promotion.
auschick sews 
Gorgeous dress. And thank you for the lovely write-up. I love the wand shot too!!
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Thanks for a great pattern! 😍
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