Something Jennuinely different... The Matinée Dress and Peplum Tour

Sometimes when I see a tester post I think ... " And now for something completely different..." <yes that is a terribly dorky Brit pop-culture reference>.  This was one of those times and I crossed my fingers and hoped to be chosen.  And figured, even if I wasn't, this dress was going to be added to my pattern collection.

First, let's start with the details, and then I'll gush a bit...

Available in sizes 12mo to 8yrs
Cap sleeve or sleeveless options
Peplum or dress length
Optional contrast hem band for the dress.
Side seam pockets on the dress option.

AND... the coolest detail...
The pattern pieces... are layered.  What does that mean?  It means that you can click on the layers button on the side bar, and select only the size you need to print.

I'm sure that there are other patterns that have this, and maybe I'm totally blind, but this is the first one I've seen/used with it, and I totally love the layers.  No concern that my tired eyes will make me cut the wrong line where things intersect.  It's pretty sweet.

For the test I got picked to make the peplum version.  I selected *either* on the questionnaire, because I knew I'd want to make both either way.  Inara and I scoured the stash for quite a while to choose fabrics that we wanted to use for this one.  The suggested fabrics didn't include satin, but I REALLY wanted to dress up my top with it, so I went for it, and it totally works.  The accent print and lining are a random Michael Miller print that was hanging out in the purples.   If you decide to go the satin route, I highly recommend adding a strip of interfacing between the layers in the back where your buttons and buttonholes will go. 

Note: Most of the photo shoot went like this.  Connor is rocking one of his Little Kiwi's Closet Rockstar Raglans with his Agathe and Theo Slouchy Pants from Filles a Maman and would NOT get out of the way, lol.

My absolute favorite part of this pattern - the back <swoon>.  Inara is at the very bottom of the size 6, and after this round of testing, the bodice was reshaped slightly at the bottom too, to help remove that little gap.   The back is closed with three buttons - two on the bottom and one on the back strap.  Totally elegant... and fun enough to play in!

We always dress up to dig for fossils.

And then I decided to make the dress... and Inara used her new makeup kit from the Easter Bunny to match. 

I still went sleeveless, since I wanted this to be suited for all summer.  And I used the optional hem band.  Again, Inara is at the VERY bottom of the size 6 on the chart (she just makes the chest measurement, but height, she is pretty much still a 5).  I decided to go with a straight 6 so we would get a little more use out of it.

And the absolute best part of this dress?  I used some of my very awesome TARDIS snaps that I do a lot of staring at and not using.  They totally made this dress perfect.  

Thoughts on the pattern itself.  It's well written, with clear and easy to follow instructions.  The illustrations are computer drawn and all very clear to go with the steps.  I had no issues following along the pattern.  The sizing is accurate with the included chart, and the layers will make it easy to mash two sizes together.  The finished product looks professional and is well constructed.

The pattern is available in the Jennuine Design Etsy Shop and the Jennuine Design Craftsy Shop and is on sale through Friday for $8 (Etsy code is MATINEE20, sale price is already set in Craftsy).

Make sure you check out the other stops on the tour!