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Monthly MashUp (4) Bess Top and Lady Skater

If you’re looking for the details of this monthly series you can check out the introduction post.

Monthly MashUp - with Call Ajaire

With Selfish Sewing Week coming up next week and Mother’s Day in the U.S. less than a month away, I thought April’s Monthly MashUp should be geared toward us ladies.  The patterns I chose are favorites of mine and the marriage between them makes me even more happy!  It’s the Bess Top by Imagine Gnats and the Lady Skater Dress by Kitschycoo.

The Bess Top (*affiliate link) is one of Rachael from Imagine Gnats‘ most interesting patterns.  The pleated yoke with wrap around sleeve is such a cool feature and really makes it stand out from your average store-bought top.  Her instructions make it easy to sew with step-by-step pictures.  It’s amazing how good you feel when you’ve put the crazy pieces together exactly how she says and then wow you’ve made something that looks so complicated and yet this is one of the fastest tops to make.  There’s definitely some genius at work there.  The pattern has lengths for a tunic and dress as well and covers women’s sizes 2-20 so odds are there’s a size in there that fits you.

The Lady Skater Dress from Kitschycoo is a stylish yet comfortable knit dress that uses the high waist measurement to really flatter your figure.  The way the skirt falls over the waist and hips is great for many shapes.  The pattern includes cap, 3/4 length, and long sleeves and though Kitschycoo uses their own sizing numbers, there are 8 sizes that range from a 30″ to 44″ high bust and 24″ to 38″ high waist.  The best part of this pattern is that Amanda has extremely detailed information about how to adjust the pattern to perfectly fit your shape.  She is dedicated to perfect fit and there is almost no pattern alteration that could need to be made to her dress that she doesn’t cover.

I’ve been wanting to MashUp these two patterns for quite some time.  The Bess top is so cool that I needed it to be a dress.  Since I wanted to use knit for the skirt I immediately had to use my favorite knit skirt shape which is of course the Lady Skater.

This MashUp was more complicated than the others I’ve done and not just because it’s a women’s pattern instead of children’s.  The top was designed to be used with wovens and the skirt was designed to be used with knit so there is ease to factor in.  I have all the details and pictures, but I don’t want to jam up this post so I will post next week about the specific alterations to make.

For now I recommend getting the fit for each pattern right for you.  Make a muslin of both in their true forms and then come back next week to see how to use those perfectly fitted patterns to make a perfectly matched up dress.  I honestly recommend doing this with any MashUp so that you know the fit is correct before you change anything.

I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention that Imagine Gnats has a fabric shop that carries my favorite double gauze fabrics ever and Kitschycoo has a fabric shop that is basically THE place to get amazing knits with the coolest prints around.

And lets not forget about the giveaway!  Of course if you’re going to be making your own MashUp, you’ll need the Bess Top and the Lady Skater Dress patterns which Rachael and Amanda have generously offered to giveaway to the winner!

Just follow the instructions in the rafflecopter below to enter the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to MashUp your own, but don’t want to wait until the giveaway is over?  You can purchase the Bess Top pattern here (*affiliate link) and the Lady Skater Dress pattern here.

Be sure to follow the Monthly MashUp Pinterest board if you’d like some more inspiration on garments to mash.  And remember, if you do a MashUp I’d love it if you would share it in the Call Ajaire Monthly MashUp Flickr group!  There are a few great ones out there in the group already and I’ll feature a few with the giveaway winner announcement next week.

Call Ajaire Monthly MashUp
<a href=”http://ajaire.blogspot.com/search/label/Monthly%20MashUp” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://callajaire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/MonthlyMashUpgraphic600px-1.png” alt=”Call Ajaire Monthly MashUp” width=”125″ height=”125″ /></a>
**the patterns for the giveaway have been generously donated, but all opinions are mine and I purchased my own patterns or put in the work as a tester before contacting the designers for this giveaway.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. 2

    J W says

    I really like the lady skater dress. I don't think I've seen a material I've liked before but something about the example here really intrigues me. And is that gauze on the bottom of,your mashup?

    Reply
  3. 3

    Amy mayen says

    I can't wait to find out what you have to say about using knits for woven patterns & vice versa. I have several patterns that I love, but i know I'll only wear in a knit!! I think this is the first time I've really seen you, who knew you had a sexy little foot tat? Love the dress!

    Reply
  12. 12

    Magda Estrela says

    This looks so good on you! I won that pattern (the Bess top), in a giveaway but am I yet to try it… this mashup is inspiring!

    Reply
  13. 13

    OnceUpona Sew says

    Love it! Looks great on you and I love the fabric on the Bess top part. You are brave to mash womens patterns.

    Reply
  17. 17

    Meagan Buch says

    I have plans to make a maternity bess top by using knit in the front – I bet I could also just put the skirt of the lady skater up at the empire line to make this mashup work!

    Reply
  19. 19

    Ajaire says

    Haha Cindy yes I'll be back soooooon with the full post. It's been a crazy few weeks and I want to make sure to do the mashUp justice. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  23. 23

    Ajaire says

    Rachel I was so nervous, but it worked out perfectly the first time. Maybe I'm getting good at these MashUp things haha ๐Ÿ˜‰ Really it's just two great patterns. And the fabric for the top is a double gauze from Imagine Gnats (of course hehe).

    Reply
  25. 25

    Ajaire says

    Thanks Amy! You should definitely try one out for yourself. I'll have the details up later this week. And if you make one I'd love you to add it to the flickr group! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  27. 27

    Ajaire says

    Thank you lady!! I love the Bess Top even more in this double gauze ๐Ÿ™‚ As you know it was supposed to be used for the girl, but what can I say….. I was feeling a little "selfish" hehe.

    Reply
  33. 33

    Ajaire says

    You're totally welcome Kat! It was so worth it to see how excited you were. It's a big thank you for bringing so many smiles to my face with your projects. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  38. 38

    Ajaire says

    Isn't it fun to read a blog that's not your normal aesthetic? I love popping over there for something I know will always bring a smile to my face. And the way she thinks about what her kids will truly want out of a garment is something I think about all the time. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  44. 44

    sorahart says

    This is a fun series and I'm glad to have discovered it! It's fun to bring new life to favorite patterns by mashing them up!

    Reply

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