So please my friends I would love you to give a massive WOO HOO for all of our AMAZING pattern tester roadies and their gorgeous dresses.
. xx
1. Your name and where you live ?
2. What fabric did you choose and where did you purchase.
Hi there!!! I’m
Bri S from The Lilac Needle based in New Hampshire USA! This
Ariana dress was my first “fancy” dress and it was an amazing pattern to follow! I used Scuba fabric from Amelia Lane Designs. My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you measure yourself accurately and grade to your exact measurements! The look I was going for when making the
Ariana was a dress that I could wear out on a date with my fiancé, but also wear to special occasions like a rehearsal dinner *which I fully intend on doing at my dinner! I really feel so amazing in this dress, both stylish and comfortable which is a major plus for me.
Hi, My name is
Christine M and I live in the Netherlands. For the
Ariana dress I used red scuba crepe (bought at my local fabric supplier) and I can tell you, it feels really comfortable. I was a bit worried it would make me feel sweaty but it’s not at all!!
Even though the
Ariana dress looks complicated, it isn’t! Just take your measurements and follow the instructions. I chose the shorter skirt length with the flounce. I wanted it to look like a salsa dancing dress (just in case we can go dancing some day after lock-down)
I made the size 3 cup C and didn’t need any adjustments. I didn’t get the chance to wear it yet, but hopefully soon.
I recommend you to buy the Brenda dress pattern too because they are so much fun to mix. I made a Briana /
Ariènda dress and I love it!! The
ariana bodice will be my favourite from now on and in this case I combined it with the flared Brenda skirt and the pleated Brenda sleeves. Tons of options!!!
1. Jamie I live in the western USA
2. The fabric was from a random destash site. Which was a thinner type stretch rayon with good rebound stretch.
3. Be extra careful to include marks from the pattern onto the fabric for correct placement of pieces.
4. I chose the flounce skirt version for wonderful flowing effect.
5. I did not make any alterations.
6. I wore it out to dinner and got many compliments the bust pleats and flounce make it look so professional.
7. It is so wonderful to be able to mash up patterns I see some in my near future for sure!
Hello all, I’m
Kaitee and from South Dakota. I chose the simple skirt for my first
Ariana with a liverpool fabric. I recommend reading the directions and taking your time. It is an easy sew but also easy to make silly mistakes if you rush. I did add an inch to my front bodice to be sure it hit my waist. I have only worn this dress once but got so many compliments! This dress is so feminine and I feel so confident in it. I love the sleeves and will be adding them to the Brenda dress as my next sewing project. Please follow me on instagram at
https://instagram.com/goatislandseamstress .

Hi, my name is
Karin and I am from the Netherlands. I love my
Ariana, I feel so feminine when wearing it! I used a beautiful viscose/cotton blend from demooistestoffen.nl. Sewing
Ariana was easy. I made a size 4 but had to take in the side seams in the bust area because it felt a bit loose. To prevent the front show too much cleavage I stitched it together with some tiny stitches. I made the version with the plain skirt, because I didn’t have enough fabric for the flounce. But I will definitely make one with the flounce skirt in the future after seeing all those beautiful examples of others!
When the weather is warming up I will wear my
Ariana a lot because I really feel good in it!
Hi I’m Lisa! I live in tropical North Queensland, Australia.
I made my
Ariana final version from printed ponte purchased from spotlight.
Ariana is such a simple sew with very comprehensive instructions and doing the rolled hem option finished off the sleeves and flounce beautifully.
I made the front split with flounce option for that little something extra and made a size 3 blended to a 5 at waist and hips. Because the waistband sits above my natural waist I blended from below the waistband and used Ann’s tips on using darts to blend sizes and increased the width and length of my darts to reduce the top of the skirt to fit the waistband.
I wore my
Ariana to church and received so many lovely compliments saying how nice I looked!
Hello everybody! I am Marieke from the Netherlands.
The
Ariana is a dress that will give you automatically a mood boost.
It is a surprisingly quick sew but the result is so stylish! I used scuba crepe for both my dresses, which is a beautiful fabric to sew with and so comfortable to wear.
I made a toile first, as always and found out I had to take in the side seams a little. Well, therefore a toiles right? My toile is corrected and is waiting for some nicer weather now.
But my final is my favorite! In this dress I feel stylish and sophisticated. The quality of the scuba crepe is amazing, it’s from www.textielstad.nl and I used black and white to have a 2 color
Ariana dress. When I started I wasn’t sure how to use the color block, I first only wanted to make the flounce white and maybe 1 front bodice, but while cutting I realized it needed more white.
I am more then happy how it turned out! This is going to be 1 of my favorites!
My husband: “wow, do we have to go out a lot when everything is open again, but till that time you’ll probably wear it when bringing the kids to school…”
Well, he knows me 😄
I am already looking forward to sew more options! I made 2 long versions, but I need a short one too and a plain skirt and….lol.
Well, all I can say is: have fun making yours, put un your favorite shoes and be you! ❤️
Hi, my name is Meiling and I live down under in Perth, Western Australia.
I chose 2 scuba/scuba crepe fabrics. Both from www.supercheapfabrics.com.au Both were gorgeous to sew with.
Some sewing tips would be to ensure you dont overstretch the binding on the front wrapover part.
I chose to make both front split with flounce with 60cm skirt and the longer length no flounce dress. I think my favourite was the plain longer length skirt so far.
I was lucky enough not to have to make any alterations. I love how the wrapover bodice fits perfectly without having to pin in place.
I am planning on wearing my plain skirt longer length to work. Those that I have shown pics to so far have all complimented on how professional looking they are.
I am yet to have a play with mixing both the
Ariana and the Brenda patterns. Both of which are favourites.
Hi, I’m
Beck from Melbourne, Australia. I used a Liverpool from Lush Fabrics (Australia) and it was a nice weight for the
Ariana.
I sewed the longer length with front flounce and did rolled hems on the flounces on my overlocker. I am really pleased with the neat finished look.
I was able to sew a straight size in the
Ariana, and I used the DD cup front piece which was a lovely fit.
For a future sew I am keen to mix the
Ariana bodice with the Brenda bishop sleeves and flared skirt.
Hello! I’m Shilyn from Florida, US!
I ordered a (real) scuba knit from an online shop, Sincerely Rylee. My biggest tip when making the
Ariana dress is to make sure that you measure and choose the right cup size! Once you’ve done that, make a toile, and really focus on the fit – the dress is so beautifully simple that you’ll want to make sure it is perfect! Definitely use a walking foot for the neckline, and don’t be scared that the binding is slightly smaller than the neckline!
For my finals, I chose the knee length with flounce, to really highlight the flirtiness of the design!
My usual fit alteration (a 1 inch sway back adjustment) was all I needed for this. I love how consistent each DS pattern is 😉
I plan on mixing the Brenda and
Ariana using the petal sleeves and the flounce skirt (oh lala!)
My name is Valentina, and I live in Carrollton, Texas.
I used a scuba crape from Fabric Wholesale Direct.
The dress is easy to sew and fun. I had to make adjustment for my behind because it sticks out a lot. The good thing is, you can use the center seam, darts, and waist seam to ask those adjustments.
I made the flounce front skirt in shorter length. It’s very pretty and unique.
I graded from size 3 bust and upper body to size 2 waist and below. I also took it in at the center back, and shaped the darts a bit longer to account for a bigger behind.
I wore my
Ariana out for my birthday date night with my husband. He said I looked better than I did in my 20s.
I haven’t decided yet, but those butterfly sleeves from Brenda are tempting.
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