The Assembly Line hoodie dress, a review in 2 parts

 Oh this has been on the queue for awhile!  And at some point, bolstered by the truly glowing reviews of this pattern, I attached it in my head to this lemon printed fabric I have had slumming in my stash for years.  It is stretch poplin and I was going to make a Grainline Morris jacket from it before I faced how much I don't like open jackets like the Morris.  Then I was going to make pants from it and probably I should have stopped there.  Oops.  I read the blogs and went with a size S and cropped it about 20 cm.  However I didn't have quite enough fabric, especially once I realised it was directional, and I did NOT dig through my stash to discover I had a large, similar weight matching stretchy navy blue piece...nope, I didn't do that.  Nor did I decide to make it sleeveless.  Instead, I somehow decided that using oiled cotton for the hood would be smart.  

Don't be like me 

 

This fabric mixing is only part of an unfixable problem.  The hood is crappy and sits up at attention due to the firm oiled cotton.  I don't find it to be a perfectly amazing hood that encircles my head, as others have said.  It's just your usual fashion hood.  The dress is overall massive.  MASSIVE.  I couldn't maintain the attention span for any hem elastic.  I get that the hem elastic probably pulls things in quite a bit, but I had about 20 cm of ease through the entire front body and chest from the upper chest down.  I could wear an entire outfit under it.  I will probably restrain myself from sending it to the op shop while I think of little shorts or things I can make to salvage this great fabric.  

In the meantime I managed to harvest the size XS out of the pattern pieces and I have already cut out the entire dress in a disturbing shade of bright celery greenish-yellow, which is a fabric I actually bought from The Fabric Store specifically to make this dress and which with the Wise Eye of experience I should have used first.  It's also stretchy - I have serious clothing claustrophobia and if I feel any entrapment whilst pulling it on I will refuse to wear an item.  I think I'm committing to the entire dress this time. 

***

When I finally got around to sewing it (it's been 3 months) I had basically zero expectation.  All the joy had leached out on the first go-round.  It's a satisfying dress to put together, with all the pieces matching up nicely.  Except, of course, the elastic cuffs. Since I had neglected to use them the first time I had not paid attention to the weird construction method recommended.  It might work on the hem, but I think it's a horrible idea on the cuffs unless you have an ultra-skinny arm option for your sewing machine.  I also have PTSD from my Wheaton windbreaker which had similarly catastrophic cuff issues, and that didn't help.  I did try to do both cuffs, and they were a loss.  I scavenged in my scraps and out of sheer luck I found the scraps from this cutting (again, recall it's been months!) and I redid normal cuffs, also did the hem in the usual way of attaching the cuff, then inserting the elastic.  I used 1.5" elastic instead of 2", so it would fit nicely inside the cuffs and hem band.  

 

So, my measurements are 33-27-37 and no way would I have made the XS going by the instructions or the size chart.  However, in my stretchy sateen it is clearly the best fit.  It still seems kind of shapeless through the chest due to the lack of real waist shaping.  I absolutely couldn't make this dress in a non-stretch fabric as I would have killer claustrophobia and wouldn't manage to get it on, but in this bright stretchy fabric it is a glowing tunnel to reach the neckhole-exit.  It's not something I'll make again in a woven though I have a sort of curiosity if it could be hacked with stable knits at some point.  The yellow dress has certainly garnered attention and compliments at work, also was pretty good to bike in since the elastic keeps it snug on my thighs, so despite the subjective feeling of shapelessness it seems to be a win - enough that I'm kind of wondering whether I should return to the lemon dress.  I think if I make it sleeveless or short sleeved and remove the hood it would already be quite fun, and I could then evaluate if it's worth applying the hem elastic.

Dear Bisque trousers: I hate you but I kind of love you too.

 So the problem arises, when a pattern is taken on by paid/influencer/instagram career/etc types - that it's *really hard* to know what you are going to think because nobody is being honest. 

One great post on this pattern is here. She compares the Bisque to the Miller and covers a lot of potential fit issues.

However, it doesn't help me much.  I'm in the standard size range. My waist is 27, my hips are 37.  Sounds like I should just....go by the size chart, right?  However in the small print you note there is 7" ease at the hips, partially created by the front pleats.  Hm. ok. 

I went by the size chart and made a size 6 in this lovely drapey rayon blend. I've used it before, it's from The Fabric Shop, decent to work with, and quite cheap when you are in Auckland.  (No online sales, sadly.)  Now, one pattern in that batch of A0s was printed incorrectly.  It was just one sheet - an A3 that hadn't been corrected and was printed as A0 or something.  So since naturally I never learn and had NOT measured my size box, I figured I must have gotten this pattern at the wrong scaling too.  The shop was super kind and reprinted the messed up things so I had a second copy of Bisque to try again.  

Here's that first attempt:

So I went with size 6 again. (Yes, I measured the box.)

I used a really fantastic Japanese chambray, a great match for this pattern.  And I started to feel creeping concern as I got near the end and HMMMM I guess the first pattern was printed to size after all.  FML.  But also, what's with the advertising of a pattern worn on a designer in a very fitted way:  

photo taken from designer's website

 

and the assumption that you would get the same fit by using the size chart. 

Ok version 2: 

Deep breath.  So I size down to a 2 because it's just a bit narrower than my hips at the waist and I think I'll be able to houdini into it.  I have one last piece of fabric for this experiment, and I'm mildly cheered on realising I can cut the pattern down, just printing out a new pocket on A4.  Also, the shit instructions are getting more tolerable now that I'm on the third time around. No, scratch that.  They are no less annoying and in fact I got a bit lazy this time around, with slightly less perfect results in the pocket area from not getting my pleats quite flat and long enough.  On some thought I think all my fit adjustments might also have caused a slight curve change at the pocket. 

OH? Fit changes?  Right.  So I shortened the pants 1" at the lower line, 1cm through the entire rise (front and back), plus I took out a wedge from the front rise of about an inch.  This is easy, you cut the pattern from the crotch to the outseam seam allowance and overlap it, just smooth out the crotch line when cutting.

The fabric is a truly sumptuous Italian wool suiting.  It was more slithery than the chambray, which was a delight to sew with, and less precise cutting, pressing, etc probably resulted.  I think I was getting a bit bored with the pattern.  

 

Pattern instructions include: irritating changing seam allowance, confusing pocket instructions, and a heavy dependence on the contradictory statement: "Press seam open...to the centre front" (which means press the seam to the centre front).  

Overall, if the designer is going to sell the pattern as fitted (when she is the model, wearing the pattern you are buying) but describe it as loose, she needs to add in some explanation of which fit you'll get when you follow the instructions.  If you want that fitted look, as others have mentioned, you better not have a waist/hip ratio difference too big because you won't be able to get the pants on.  That means this pattern is being sold with a picture that not everyone can achieve and it's not obvious up front since the size range is relatively large. 

Making a size 2 is the smallest I could have made. I can indeed get my hips into these pants, just barely.  With fit adjustments, the pants fit me in a pleasing way, but they still don't create quite the same fit that the designer is selling.  If you want a pair of elastic waist pants with nice pleats and pockets, and you want them to be loose fitting - this pattern will make you happy.  But if you want something quite fitted, like the designer here is wearing in her own advertisement, then I think other patterns are probably better.  

I like these pants, but I'm not sure I'd make them again when I could make a pair of Pomona pants instead.  I especially notice it when I'm pulling them on and the elastic literally has no stretch because the waistband is basically the size of my waist without needing elastic.  Once on they are comfortable and the pockets are delightfully roomy, so I might do an about-face at some point.  I mean, the hard fitting work is done!