Ellie & Mac Tulip dress pattern review

This is my second make from my Ellie and Mac pattern splurge after Christmas, the tulip dress (afflink). I made this in a large scale rose print double brushed poly from Cali Fabrics.

Alterations

I love the look of a tulip hem but I often find that because of the cross-over they can feel really short, especially when sitting down. This is a definite problem with the RTW tulip hem dress I have and that has caused it to largely remain in my closet. The nice thing about sewing your own clothes, is you can make them whatever length you want!

Given my past issue with my RTW version, I looked closely at the pattern tester images before making this pattern. This is a great feature of E&M patterns! It is really helpful to see so many versions right on the pattern instructions. When I looked at the makes of this pattern, I knew I’d also want it longer. I always add 1” to E&M patterns because they are designed for 5’5” and I’m 5’7” but since I also wanted it longer than shown, I added another 2 inches.

There are two lengthen/shorten lines on this pattern which is really helpful when adding a lot of length. I don’t really want all of the length in the torso, now do I? Nope. I added 1” at the top lengthen line below the bust and I added my other 2” at the lower lengthen line.

Below the bust, I also needed to grade out for the waist and hip. My bust is a L but my waist/hip is an XL. I took the opportunity to do my grading where I added my extra length. I used my French curve to make a nice smooth transition from L to XL.

With the extra length, this dress came out the perfect length, right at my knee in the back and slightly above the knee in the front where the hem crosses.

For the sleeve, I had cut the 3/4 length sleeve but on me, I found this to be too long. I cut off 3/4" and then hemmed them 1/2" using a twin stretch needle.

The last alteration I made was to remove the back seam. I don’t really see the point in having a seam down the back on a knit dress so I took it out. I mean, it’s  not adding any shaping on a knit and it breaks up the print. Mine was a large scale floral so it would have been very noticeable to have a seam or used a lot of fabric to pattern match.

I guess you might be able to make the dress with less fabric if you cut those piece independently (you can cut one at a time and use it to squeeze another length out of the available width), so perhaps that is why it was designed in this way. This dress is something of a fabric hog because you have two front pieces. I used almost all of the 3 yards of fabric I had available. If I’d only had the 2.5 yards recommended on the chart, I might not have had enough and might have needed to cut the back in two pieces.

Ok, I spoke too soon! After I wore the dress the first time, I decided to make one more alteration. The hemmed sleeves were too tight. I think the stabilizer I used kept it from stretching enough, so I ended up cutting off the hems and adding a band to finish my sleeves.

Directions Review

This dress came together so easily I barely even used the directions. If you have experience in knit dresses, I am sure you will have no problem putting this baby together. The only wild card, is the ruching on the front which makes the tulip hem and there I found the directions to be very clear and logical.

Overall I think this was a great pattern and I think I should make another version in the tunic length (or maybe a little shorter as a top!). I have a goal this year to make more separates and fewer dresses (so far I’m failing), so it seems like a good plan!

Update: I also used the tulip with just one front piece to make a bodycon dress for Halloween with this mummy print from JoAnn's. A great way to get more out of this pattern.

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