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Lady Skater Dress

It’s always great when you can sew something quick and great and get instant gratification out of it, and so I present to you my Lady Skater Dress! The Lady Skater is a pdf sewing pattern that is available via instant download. It’s a wonderful pattern that is written by Amanda of Kitschy Coo. I made one of Amanda’s patterns back in the day, the Reversible Zip Hoodie, for my kids. I’ve made them 3 hoodies, and when they grow out those, they will be receiving some brand new ones out of whatever fabric they happen to like.

The fabric required for this project is a knit, and I used fabric by Patty Young for Michael Miller fabrics. There’s not a huge huge selection of knit fabrics out there, unless you’re a baby, but I did notice that Valori Wells has some new knit fabrics, so that might be worth a look-see. Amanda has a lot of brilliant knit fabrics (mostly organic) in her shop, so I might be tempted to buy a few and make a peplum out of this pattern.

Amanda is certainly a pro with sewing with knits, and I’m a newbie, so I was a little nervous. I had my stretch needle, I had my (optional) twin needle and my clear elastic. I was ready to go. Amanda assured me that I would only need to spend about 2 hours sewing to finish my dress. I was a little skeptical.

The pattern fits a women’s bust size of 30″ – 44″. Since this is a pdf pattern, you will need to be taping some pattern pieces together: there is a skirt, front bodice, back bodice, sleeve, and band for the neckline and sleeve. Not too bad, and my kids helped me tape the pieces together, so great fun was had by all.
If you’re a quilter, the neck and arm trim is applied much like you would sew single-fold bias to the front of a quilt before you attach it in the back. The brilliant part about this is that when sewing the neck and arm trim, since your fabric will be stretchy, the trim is applied with the bodice/sleeves laid out flat, so you’re not sewing around a curved or actually within a circle. It makes it really easy and hassle-free to do.
I read through some of Amanda’s tutorials on how to sew with knits before I got started, and they were completely helpful. I would strongly suggest reading them in conjunction with the pattern, although the pattern does give some of the information from the tutorials already. It’s just helpful to know what to expect.

It’s funny because while I was sewing up the bodice, normally I try things on a ton of times to make sure I’m on the right track (too lazy for a muslin), but with this I had a hard time because I did not have any prior knowledge of sewing with knits. I put the half-done bodice over my head and I thought, wow, the neckline looked so big..I wished I had made a muslin. But when the whole dress was finished, I was completely and utterly shocked because the thing fit like a glove. A GLOVE! I made no modifications to the pattern (my first time with knits, I really needed to just do exactly I as I was told, lol). It’s kind of fun not having to worry about darts or zippers and just sew.

I wore this dress for an entire day (I’m still writing it as I type), and it feels like a dream. I went bowling with my kids, went to the park and library, it just felt really good to wear. I paired it with a bright yellow belt and it felt really cool and summery. A+ on the Lady Skater pattern, and I am looking forward to making the pattern again with a shorter skirt to make a peplum top.
Thanks to Amanda for letting me be a part of the Lady Skater pattern tour…head on over to Kitschy Coo to follow along with the other dates on the tour! And don’t forget to check out the pattern!

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17 thoughts on “Lady Skater Dress

  1. Kelly says:

    It’s absolutely fabulous Sara!

  2. Love this dress, looks great on you!

  3. Mar García says:

    Awesome dress, and good choice of fabric!

  4. CynthiaT59 says:

    This is such a cute dress! I love the dots and the yellow belt. It looks so comfortable. Great job!

  5. mjb says:

    Cute dress! Girl Charlee, fabric.com, and denver fabrics are other good sources for knits.

  6. Linda R says:

    Love the dress on you. What a great job. It looks so comfortable. The yellow belt and red shoes are a kicker combination. Well done! 🙂

  7. Beth says:

    Great dress. Looks really perfect on you.

  8. Aoife says:

    That’s a great dress! I’m going to bookmark it, cos I’m brand new to all kinds of garment sewing and knits are way too daunting right now. But come Autumn I’m going to conquer that and this will be first on my list! Thanks, pet!

  9. Looks fantastic! BTW, where did you get your clear elastic? I was just at Joann today and they don’t sell it. Ugh
    Thx! Jen 🙂

  10. Jo says:

    Fits well and great for a summers day. Jo x

  11. kermitgirl says:

    I am in love with your belt – snake and yellow <3 Where can I get one like it?

  12. aangto says:

    Lovely dress and beautiful fit! I bet this dress would also be super comfortable in modal fabric.

  13. Cindy says:

    Gorgeous dress! I love how it looks in a polka dot print.:)

  14. sansuey says:

    I love that dress! Great work!

  15. Emily says:

    great dress! I too should make something with knits soon…someday!

  16. linynp says:

    Omg Sara! It’s great! Enabler alert! Just bought and sewed one up!!! My new favorite!!!!!!! Now to purchase some real knots and make it again :). Thanks for showing! (Yes I still have to do the other dress lol!)

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