Ma Moose: Sewing Up Spring with Ottobre Design

I'm back with another post for the Sewing Up Spring blog tour.

I must think that french terry and kangaroo pockets equal spring because just like in my first post in the blog tour, that's what I sewed again.

I sewed up the "Sunny Side of the Road" dress from Ottobre Designs, issue 2/2107 in french terry from Pretty Posh Prints.

The only modification I made to the dress was to add 1" in length. I'm at the top of the range that Ottobre drafts for which is 164 cm to 172 cm and since this is a mini dress, I knew I would be comfortable if I added a little bit in length. The final length of the dress is included in the pattern instructions, which also helped confirm I needed that extra inch.

The dress turned out wonderfully! The picture below, on the right, is how the dress was pictured in the magazine. I was immediately sold when I saw the picture.

Photo Credit: Ottobre Designs

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2017_2/index.html?en

I like to view the designs on the Ottobre website from time to time. When I started looking at the pictures of this particular issue, I knew I needed to buy it. I had bought Ottobre magazines years ago, but had set them aside when I started using more PDF patterns.

I decided to go ahead and subscribe to Ottobre. Even if I don't sew from each issue, I love the inspiration it provides and it's an enjoyable read. However, I am making it my goal to at least sew one thing from each magazine I receive during the first year.

This issue (2/2017) is the women's spring and summer issue. There is so much great inspiration for spring in here! Check out this adorable denim dress and super sweet t-shirt dress:

Photo credit: Ottobre Designs

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2017_2/index.html?en

Here are the line drawings of all the designs in this issue, you can probably see why I just had to buy this:

Photo Credit: Ottobre Designs

http://www.ottobredesign.com/lehdet_js/2017_2/index.html?en

You can view all the pictures of the designs on the Ottobre website here.

In case you don't have any experience about Ottobre, I put together a quick pros and cons list to help you decide if it's for you.

Pros:

-Value: there are a lot of patterns in one magazine.

-Variety: Each magazine includes many different original patterns. There are tops, dresses, jackets, shorts, pants... in each issue. There have also been underwear, swimsuits, hats, and other different types of patterns in past issues.

-Inspiration: Even if I don't sew a single thing from an issue, I know it was a worthy purchase for the inspiration and the enjoyment I had reading it.

-Well drafted patterns. Consistent grading.

-Instructions are straight forward and complete (however, see the point in the cons list about the instructions.)

-As a Finnish magazine, the Euro style is up to date on trends. As they also have readers all over the world, they are open to requests from their readers and try to accommodate requests and styles from other countries.

Cons:

-Although complete, the instructions are short and sweet. There isn't much hand holding in the instructions. There are no pictures. It helps to have a basic understanding of how to sew the type of garment you are working on.

-The patterns are on several sheets of paper, overlapping each other. It can be a huge pain in the butt to trace them out. But once I wrap my mind around it, I find it relaxing to sit and trace. Others might not agree though!

-There are no measurements for bindings. There are good instructions for how to sew bindings (this has been consistent in all the issues I have read) and instructions for how to calculate bindings based on fabric types. It is expected for you to calculate how long your binding should be.

-You have to add your own seam allowance. It's not what I'm used to but it seems to be consistent with other European patterns (and perhaps others, I'm not sure.)

-This isn't a real con, but I have a little bit of a hard time figuring out the kids sizes sometimes. They use European sizes and the metric system, so I have to do a little more thinking to figure out sizes. It's not complicated though, it just takes my American brain a minute. :)

I hope that helps! I might have more to say about Ottobre as a whole after I complete my goal of sewing from each issue I receive. Besides the dress on the blog today, it's been years since I've sewn an Ottobre pattern.

I am very happy with this sew. I plan on making another one, but will lower the armscye a little bit on the next one. That's not very surprising as I have had to do that on other sleeveless patterns. It's not uncomfortable enough for me to alter this one. I might not even notice if I didn't have sewing experience.

There were quite a few bindings to sew on: the armscyes, the neckline, the hem and the opening of the kangaroo pocket. My double needle got a workout!

I particularly love the neckline, it's a soft V-neck. After binding is applied around the neckline, the V-neck is formed with a small dart. I was skeptical as it seemed like a cheater way, but it lays so nicely!