gathered summer dress: simplicity 9702

Hey friends! Today I am sharing a dress that I sewed back in March/April and that’s Simplicity S9702! I finally photographed it and I couldn’t believe I waited so long to do it because I love this dress! The gathers, the tiers, the sleeves with the casing… it’s so good and perfect for summer! If you have this pattern and plan to make it, check out my review and overall thoughts below. Lets get into the details…

the details

Pattern Used: I used Simplicity 9702 for this dress and I made View C on the pattern.

Pattern Description: V-neck dress comes in above mid-knee to mid-calf lengths and has sleeve variations and side pockets. View A features a crochet trim on V-neckline and long sleeves gathered to self bias binding edges. View B has a ruffled hem, long sleeves with ruffles at ends, and elastic at wrists. View C is a tiered dress with short sleeves and gathered caps. *description from Simplicity website.

Pattern Sewing Level: The sewing level is Average.

What size did you cut?: I cut the 20 for this dress.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes! These instructions were easy to follow. I didn’t have any issues with the instructions or the illustrations.

What did you like or dislike about the pattern? My dislike is more of a personal issue not the pattern lol. As much as I love the finished look of gathers, and I LOVE them, doing them with multiple tiers and large pieces is time consuming. To help me get through this pattern, I did one tier a day lol. That was the only way I was going to finish, because doing them all at once was a no for me. So If you are similar with making gathers on large pieces, then breaking up the tiers was helpful.

Did you make any pattern adjustments: I did not make any adjustments but I should have. I underestimated the V on the front of the dress. It is low. It’s a little low for my comfort level so I do wish I would paid more attention and raised it a little. When I did wear it, I opted for boob tape instead of a bra so my bra wouldn’t show. I also think a bust adjustment would’ve been great because although I get a size up in the bust, I did have some pulling around the V.

To raise the neckline, I’ve attached a few pics below. First, if you want to raise it, I recommend making a muslin. You can raise it by starting at the center. Raise it up to however much you’d like (but remember to not go too high, this is a pull on dress. This dress does not have a zipper so if you go too high, you’d have to add one.) In the example, I went up 2 inches. From there, raise the remainder of the neckline so it blends back in to the pattern. You shouldn’t be near the shoulder seams raising it up (unless you want to add a zip). The original design does not have a center seam at the bust, so if you raise it, you will now have a center seam. Add your seam allowance, and be sure to make the same adjustments to the facing. I hope this helps.

Where did you purchase the fabric(s)? My fabric is from Melanated Fabrics! I used this Rayon here. We have other options that will be great for this dress!

Did you record a sew along for this pattern? No, I did not record a sew along for this dress.