My first Ottobre: Harebell Dress

I finally ordered an issue of Ottobre! I first learned of the Finnish magazine with children's sewing patterns a few years ago, but never got around to ordering one. I was anxious to get some cute little boys clothing patterns, and this issue is especially boy happy! Don't ask me why the first thing I made was a dress for Little Man's twin sister. She needs another dress like I need a another yard of fabric...

I made the Harebell dress ... what the heck is a harebell? It's a flower, more commonly referred to as a bluebell in the States. I digress... I love this dress soooo much! It is so cute, went together beautifully and, if I do say so myself, looks RTW! Okay, on to the dress...

If you've never seen an Ottobre in real life, it can be a tad daunting. Okay, a lot daunting. Gorgeous pictures of cute kids in even cuter outfits and patterns for all of the clothing in a pull-out section in the middle. The pattern pages look like blueprints for the Golden Gate Bridge - millions of lines in all different colors overlapping each other, along with numbers and words written all over. In Finnish. Yeah. Each pattern coordinates to a particular color, and luckily, it's really not that difficult to focus on one particular color when tracing the patterns. My husband was pretty impressed when he saw what I was doing last night. Until he realized I was making yet another dress...

One note about tracing patterns... of course it's necessary for Ottobre, but regarding other patterns, I held out for a long time on this step. And, I still don't always do it... especially when I'm using a pattern from one of the major pattern companies and I paid .99 for it at Joann's. But, when I'm sewing a pattern from a European company like Farbenmix, or a pricier pattern like Modkid or Portabello Pixie, I always trace the pattern so I can use it for several sizes. Anyway, I use and love pattern paper from Joann's. It's behind the cutting counter along with the interfacings. It's less than $2/yard and it's super-wide, so really a terrific bargain. I've seen a lot of recommendations for Swedish Tracing Paper, or STP, but I've never tried it because it's only available online where I live. I think this is probably pretty similar and comparable in price. It's like a lightweight woven interfacing, so it's flexible, see-through and easy to trace, cut and pin.

Ottobre patterns don't include seam allowances, so I added those after I traced the pieces. I flubbed up on the yoke because I didn't realize that it was cut on the fold and I added seam allowances to that part... I figured it out before I sewed it, but I had to re-cut that piece. It still didn't fit right after it was sewn, so I'm not sure what I did wrong there, but I trimmed the overhanging fabric and it was fine. I'm sure it was a problem with my tracing.

The dress fastens with an invisible zipper - practically the only kind of zipper I use since I started making Barcelona skirts. I think it still needs a hook and eye, since there's a little gap at the top... I'll add that tonight after petunia is sleeping. (That's not her real name ... just a fitting moniker ... oh, I'm a little petunia in an onion patch ....

My favorite part of the pattern is the facings for the neckline and the armholes. I'm so used to doing bias binding, that I almost finished them that way, but I think this way looks so much better with the style of the dress. Love the sleeveless design that still covers all of her shoulders. I would probably add about an inch to the hemline, because I like to make her dresses a little longer in case she hits a growth spurt.

Here's the finished result! For the 98 cm size, I used less than 5/8" yard of pink gingham and the Amy Butler Midwest Modern (one of my all-time favorite prints) was scraps left over from another project. About four hours work, including tracing time, a break for lunch, and an emergency hunt for a missing dinosaur.

So, my very first Ottobre, but certainly not my last! I swear I'm going to make an outfit for the boy next!