The Pattern Is Just The Beginning | Sewing the March Dress 

I’m so inspired by your content and killer sewing skills!!! Just want to say, you are beautiful! Your body is beautiful! There is NOTHING to hide!!! Your intelligence, insight and compassion shine through!!! And so does your physical beauty! I dearly hope you can see it. That you can feel it. That you can be healed by it!!! When we love & accept ourselves, we heal the world!!! You are a healer!!

Your adventure to get some wardrobe essentials is inspiring, thank you.

I love that you share lots of resources - pattern designers, other RU-vidrs, books etc - helping us all find information. Great to see your unique version!

I love Birdsong. It’s one of the most joyful sounds in my life. Thanks for leaving them in.

I totally get whole thing about the fit adjustments and examples with different body shapes. At least on youtube we can now get more variety of people and their individual experiences.

It’s super cute on you!!! I love that you’re honest about the process. It’s not easy making things, but it’s worth it.

I really like the jazz music you chose. And thanks for talking about different measurement ratios on different people. That made me feel normalized, even though I am definitely an apple shaped gal. It was like a lovely ah-ha moment. "She and I are different, and we can both be within normal." Yay! The dress looks fantastic on you. You look fabulous in it. I love how you move confidently and comfortably in the reveal. You look happy.

Aaronica is never ceases to amaze me. I love your dress! I think the black contrasts beautifully. Those pockets look large enough for kittens!

The dress looks amazing! It's been fantastic to see you working through these projects and talking through your changing understanding of your own sewing journey and relationship with clothing. I'm forever shifting my own too and it's great to hear different experiences.

You look so gorgeous in the reveal! The pretty, fun dress and the long flowing hair, you look like the lead singer in a 1970s folk band!

Hydration reminder much appreciated! I have a kidney condition, and staying hydrated is very important, esp when you live in a desert. Love your videos! You are fabulous, whatever size you are!

Absolutely stunning! Makes you look really youthful as well. And jolly! I bet Husby is impressed as well! You’ve got such talent to encourage the Plus Crowd!

It's lovely to watch your confidence growing as you sew more. I still talk to the screen to encourage you. I'm not patronising, I'm 69 and have been sewing for 61 of those years (you may be listening). Birdy

Oh I love the color blocking! The print just shines

Your dress is awesome 👏 The contrast between the black and print is perfect.

Fishing line is a good substitute for a cord when you're creating gathers. Thankyou for all the frequent videos!

like button booped as ordered!

I love it! Would be fun to do a solid with a tie dye. Plans within plans. Inspirational as always for us curvy lovelies

The contrasting fabric was a great idea. Good job!

Omg, the thumbnail picture of you is so cute! My favorite videos are the ones where I feel that I am sitting with the person hearing about their process and projects. Quilting cotton has a wide range of prices in California, from very inexpensive (on sale) at JoAnns to very pricing but gorgeous at an independent store. You might be interested in the Stitchery video where Charlie compares the prices of sheets vs traditional yardage per square foot.

Extra cute on you with the contrast. I like that better than the 1-color versions I have seen!!!

I found you very early on when you were just starting. I’ve been sewing for over 50 years. Probably 51-52 at this point. I’ve watched you start out and develop into a wonderful result such as this glorious dress. So pretty and well done. Brava!!! I love this so much and I love how you’ve progressed in your sewing journey. You are very much appreciated. Thank you for posting.

Love the dress, it is so cute and witchy. If you want to you could try adding an extra flounce or two, lovely to see you looking more like your old self, happier. ❤

I like the final black panels more than the one you were gonna use. The contrast makes it “pop”.

Really cute - You look really special in that dress, especially with that hat.

Love the fabric combination! You look so confident and happy wearing it.

Stevie Nicks vibes 100000%. That feels like such a great fall dress!! I'm excited to hear what suggestions you get for summer sun dresses.

Gorgeous and giving me the idea that I need to watch more videos on custom fitting for my daughter who is very busty with hockey goalie muscles in her thighs!!

Looks cute. You wear it with style ! New here , also cat person here. Love the 2 overlords that allowed you to hold them if even for a minute. 😁 Ya know if we need to filter the water , something's wrong with the way we're being governed. Nature made it just perfect. 3 M made it toxic but it's in what we use around us and how it's in the body. So filtering the water doesn't save us from corporations doing wrong. Beautiful thing about nature, it finds a way around us and if it can't.... We're outta here. Rightfully so. Sadly.

Love the dress! Looks great on you! Love the ideas for the front panel. We'll defiantly need updates and reveals for that! Sorry to hear that you're having so much problems with your serger. It's a darn pain when they don't work as advertised! When you start looking check some of the dealers for refurbished trade ins. They used to sell them and probably still do. That's were mom got mine. I got it as a present cause she was tired of her machine being at my place when she wanted it! I'm still using it! It's been nasty got and humid in southern Ontario! I'm celebrating the fact that they were able to fix the air in my car without telling me that I had to replace it! When you start getting forecasts of 30 something that feels like 40 something C it's too hot for me!

You look beautiful in your lovely dress! I'm a plus size person (who is gradually losing weight) in Kamloops, BC. I wear dresses mostly, and I sew them from quilting cotton , or cotton lawn for summer. They all have long gathered skirts. I also have my mother's collection of sewing thread, and quite a bit of it is on wooden spools from the 50's and 60's. I get fabric online, mostly at Equilters or Spoonflower when there are sales. Shopping with Canadian dollars is brutal! I'm glad I discovered your channels.

I actually purchased a projector after watching your last video. I want to get back into sewing, since I am not finding clothes in retail stores to my liking and do not have a printer to be printing off a small forest of trees for a pattern. Seeing the ability to be able to trace onto paper to make pattern pieces seemed actually possible to me so I am going to give it a try. I appreciate your videos, as a fellow plus sized Canadian girl. Was recently in Fabricland and disappointed in the patterns they had or the prices were insane. She tried to sell me a membership but I don't sew enough right now for that. I want cute, witchy clothing but not finding it in store in my size it just makes sense to make it myself. I did see The Stitchery's video on using bedsheets as material, I went to a local home store and found some 100% cotton King sized sheets, discounted, in a fabric I loved to make something out of. Just need to decide on a pattern to use. I am hoping I will have enough fabric to make multiple pieces out of it. I would suggest checking her video out. She broke down the sizes and prices and compared them to price per yard/m. It is in US money but I thought it was a decent way to get natural fibre material in Canada, especially if you can find it on clearance, and loved the idea of not having to piece together a circle skirt.

Looks great! So flowy and comfy. I bind from inside out so that I top stitch the good side and no worries about missing the back edge. Same with cuffs and collars.

You may have to resort to up-cycling used garments to get the fabric you need (as some of us are doing here in the U.S.A.). You start with your own garments. We all have something that we don't wear; but, it's too good to let go of. I shop at local consignment shops, The Salvation Army, Goodwill, Gateway Helping Hands, Church rummage sales, and yard sales. I find many beautiful prints in men's shirts. Cotton sheets and table cloths are good sources. I love wearing Hawaiian muumuu dresses with loose sleeves during hot weather. I wore my new muumuu dress to my last doctors appointment. Many people told me how much they liked my dress. I was cool and comfortable in that dress; and, it was not hard to expose my right knee for the doctor to examine.

It's gorgeous and you made such a great job of using that lovely fabric. I have just ordered some beautiful linen/cotton fabric with paint palette decorations, which is my passion and as it was rather pricey, I just got a small amount and this dress has given me ideas! I had a chuckle at the "floppy origami" mention at the beginning, you have a way with words that I love (Terry Pratchett fan, can you relate?).

The Reeta shirt dress by Named. Has sleeve, pockets and length. It’s nice and floaty and handles Aussie summers well

I don't really like the March dress pattern, at least for me and what I want to wear. I really love the sleeves and the contrasting fabrics that people have done with it. You look great in it!! Also, your pockets are awesome!! I've been having fun with Helen's Closet. Your video inspired me to make the Winslow pants. Made a cute pair of pink knee length shorts, and am planning a full length pant with black linen. and POCKETS!!!

That looks amazing! Baby Duck pockets for the win!

Thank you for the hydration check, I had totally forgotten to refill my bottle ❤

Great video!! I have a “ruffling” construction option for you. I learned to use fishing line instead of a cord. You place the fishing line under the foot and zig zag over it. Depending on the thickness of your fabric you may need to adjust the size of your stitch. The fabric slides so easily when gathering. After you sew the ruffle/skirt/whatever to your garment the fishing line will slide out. I re-roll it back onto the spool to use the next time. 🎉

Oh, I LOVE that dress on you! Super cute! I think I'll have to pick up this pattern. Thank you!

I love how this turned out! It looks great on you. Your clothes remind me of my aunt's clothes, she was a great sewist and made a bunch of fun Barbie clothes for me when I was a kid.

It looks so good on you! The black color blocking has a 90s vest. 💙

Looks great on you, Maire!

That is another beautiful outfit.

Great dress on you. The witchy hat adds panache, really suits you. (Not that you look witchy lol) I can see that dress in knit fabrics in my not too distant future.

Super cute!

The black ties are a nice touch. I understand why you choose to use the patterned fabric on the cuffs, but I do think the contrast fabric would have also been cute. Viva witchy vibes!

Nicely done. I love the dress, but for me, it'd have to have a longer hem. You look adorable. I was right there with you when you spoke about larger sized fashions. Fabric, color, style choices matter to me. You're absolutely right about many of the mainstream pattern companies "inclusive" patterns with boxy styling, and no info for us pear shaped (and other nifty bodies) how to adjust for a better, more flattering fit. My armhole doesn't need to be down to my belly button to get enough fabric to cover my frontside and backside needs. (You know what I mean) Thank you so much for working on these things. I was so happy to find a similar shaped person sewing and sharing her trials over fit; I immediately subscribed (oh ages ago). I'm working on developing my basic block pattern so I can sew what I want (repeatedly) without having to adjust the fit on a new design each time. And I truly love your deadpan humor. Thank you.

This dress looks amazing on you.

Cute colour blocking!

I'm a new subby here, I sew... enjoyed your video, I loved the way you described every thing as I'm a new to sewing at the age of 65 , I'm still learning, I absolutely loved the way the dress you made looks on you. its beautiful. thankyou for showing us , I've a lot to learn :) hugsx

Oh my gawds!!! I love it so much! I feel like I need to make some for myself now!

I very much like your new clothes so far Maire, you look great ánd your videos are great. Love watching them and hear you talking and commenting and philosophising (is that a word?). I cannot see what I'm typing so excuses for strange words/faults. Keep going Maire☀️

hi good to have another video. on pockets, i made my own pattern years ago. im one of the people who frankenstein patterns/ invent my own.

This dress looks great on you and so comfortable. When you started talking about embroidery I realized why it looked vaguely familiar, I had an Afghanie dress back in the early 70s that was somewhat similar and the whole front panel was embroidered and sparkly and the skirt was patch work. So check those out for inspiration for the next one. It has been hot here too and I just stayed close to the heat pump / ac making toddler viking dresses, after several hours getting my serger going and the thread changed.

I love your dress, and it looks super cute. I recently found your channel and am really enjoying it.

I feel your serger pain!! Mine started acting up a couple of months ago. I would rethread it, serge about 6 inches, and the right needle thread would break. It is NOT an exaggeration that I rethreaded the thing more than 50 times, over several days, changed the needles (I had the right kind for my vintage Singer), and lots of bad words. I kept thinking that threading it just ONE MORE time would fix it. I finally bit the bullet and took it in for a tune-up. Well worth the $85. It's serging like a youngster, rather than the 40-year-old she is!

You look lovely in that! Good job!

I love the direction your videos are taking. I aspire to be as comfortable as you are with clothing your body where it is now, while working toward your preferred state. I’m on a similar journey, but very not comfortable with myself at all. I’m working on it. You have made me realize that my tees, yoga pants, cardigans wardrobe (yep, me too) isn’t adequate, and could use a few nice “going out” outfits. For everyday wear, my plan is to take in the casual wear as it gets too big, until it’s silly to do so. Have had to cut an access hole into the waistbands of my yoga pants/capris, to feed in elastic to keep them from drooping, next is actually taking in the legs, but it’s okay for now. I have a thought about a lighter dress for hot weather, though not exactly a sundress, per se. When you were showing this finished dress, my immediate thought was that it would probably look really good without the lower part of the sleeves, so that it’s short/dolman sleeves (I am not a long sleeve fan at the best of times). Perhaps try this same pattern, but lengthen the skirt & skip the long sleeves. You could maybe even consider if it’s possible for the drop shoulder portion to be shortened a bit, if you want more of a sundress kind of feel. You already like the pattern, know how it fits you, and the options for contrasting/feature panels.

Beautiful dress!

Very cute!

Oh Maire this is your best one yet! 🩷 Great video. Don't know if this is a help or not . As I like doing gathering I divide up the length say in half or quarter . Less thread breaks too. Hoping Calgarys water problems get solved soon 🙏. It is good to conserve where you can. Love& Peace girlfriend. 🍁

Beautiful cat. ❤️❤️❤️

pretty dress.

I just love your style❤

Cute!

This dress is beautiful. I'm currently makes the RoseClair dress be cashmerette. I was pretty excited for a wrap dress that would adjust to fit over small changes, but I'm worried it won't have the coverage i want. My mock up gapes from the neckline stretching out. 😢. I think i can put in a modesty panel in the neck line to avoid flashing my bra at the general public. It's so good to know that i can try to do things like that to make my clothes comfortable for me to wear. I've seen a lot of dresses that if they were just a bit different I'd wear them. Just a few inches longer, just add sleeves, just raise the neckline an inch or two... Sigh at least i can try to sew things I'll be comfortable in.

Cuuute!!

Have you checked out Scroop patterns? They are very size inclusive and the Robin dress may interest you.

One option would be to add another ruffled layer on the same pattern to make it more of a tiered maxi dress

I do not have a projector as such - but I do have a tracing app that cost the equivalent of two or three cups of coffee. It lets you set up your phone or ipad to trace images by hand: your hand is on the paper but you’re watching the screen, where you can see both your hand and (as dark or faint as you like) and the image you are tracing, as if it’s there on the paper. I never thought of using it to trace sewing patterns, but you can set it up to do mural-sized work…hmm…

Hi Marie, thanks for another fab video. I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments about fabrics and prices. Here in the far north of Scotland the prices are completely outrageously expensive. Plus, we don’t have local fabric stores to “pop” into, let alone the large stores with an abundance of choice for fabrics. So, I’m using up my stash acquired over twenty plus years. But only the planet friendly fabrics. I still have some awful polyester based fabrics with beautiful patterns but I just can’t wear anything that doesn’t breathe. So, petroleum based fabrics are just a non starter for me. (Anyone got any ideas for what to do with these latter?) I’m intrigued by the concept of ultra short throw projectors - can you do a video on how to buy a basic one and how to use it? Would love to watch that. Love the kitties too. ❤🎉😊

The dress turned out so lovely. I feel you with the wrong way print, I have a great summer blouse where the palm trees in the background grow upside down 🙄

you are always going to get broken threads on the serger if you don't start with the thread pole/guide lifted up. you're actually putting extra strain on the thread by running the machine with it lowered. I get that old machines are fussy and fiddly, I've got a couple myself. But even a new machine would have that reaction if you didn't lift the pole! Sorry to harp, but hopefully you can save yourself unnecessary stress with the serger going forward!

I completely commiserate with forgetting to check if my fabric pattern is going the correct direction. I have a dress where the butterflies are all flying upside down!

Nice

I live near a large park and the wildlife is amazing (I saw deer a few days ago!) but my goodness the birds are so loud (starting at 3am) and the wind in the trees is a constant background noise. That might sound lovely to some, but my migraine brain sometimes feels overwhelmed by the tweets and susurration. The dress is really nice! Would the bib panel work with lace? I would wear it with bike shorts since I caved to heat and societal norms and shaved my calves a few days ago. My old mum's shower chair came in very handy; I didn't have to balance like a fat clumsy stork 😁

❤

That dress is awesome and you cat is beautiful. It almost seems inspired by their colours 😸 I have had to learn how to alter a pattern for my 5’2” height, narrow shoulders, full belly, full bicep, high waist etc and found pdf patterns from indie companies are where it is at for me. I print them so I can hold them against my body and if a modification is off I can reprint. The big four patterns act like my body doesn’t exist. I have recently bought the Lyric dress pattern by love notions to make a sundress with. It also can be made into a peplum top so you can make a toile without using the full amount of fabric! You would look great in one of those. It has different sleeves options and I plan on going with the bishop. I also will be grading the waist up because it is always bigger than a pattern expects. They have lots of body and finished measurements. The height is for 5’5”. They go up to a 59.5 hip. Also there are projector pattern files as well as print your own included. If you think you’d like it you can get 10% off if you use an affiliates code. Jess’s code is currently 10off but it changes every couple of months.

My serging also goes like that! 😂😂😭 For me it's usually just broken threads and then re-threading. I just bought new thread and hope that will help, but I don't think it's just the thread, I think I my manage to get things wrong that cause the thread breakage at least some of the time.

I’d love to upgrade my serger to one with auto-threading; I have just enough of a shake in my hands that it’s a PITA to change threads. But those puppies are expensive!

I can’t remember if I’ve sung the praises of Muna and Broad patterns on here before, so apologies if I’m repeating myself… but you should really check out Muna and Broad, especially if you want pant and skirt options. I think their store blog has a comparison of all the different pants patterns. I’m not as wild about their tops - mostly because I feel a dropped shoulder combined with my prodigious bust just looks sloppy. But I love seeing their designs on plus sized people, not plus sized adjacent models.

You have the pest pockets on RU-vid!

It’s called a design choice

Booped 🫡 Re: Color blocked sort of projects, I’m actually working on a shirt block with an all-in-one short sleeve for a friend of mine who wanted some basic cotton button downs for work in fun prints, so im stashbusting with that in a white/pink/gold floral & birds print with solid pink sateen accents on the back yoke, collar, and chest pocket. I quite like how it’s coming out!