Tulip Dress

Becoming a tester for Ellie & Mac is a dream come true! When I started sewing clothing for myself several years back, I never dreamed that I would get to a point where I could be testing! And to be chosen to be a tester was just the cherry on top of learning to make all my own clothing and make them well.

In case you are unsure of what exactly "testing" is, I'll explain. The process of creating a PDF pattern has many steps, including: 

Inspiration - finding or having an idea and deciding to make that idea into a pattern.

Drafting - turning inspiration into a pattern.

Pretesting - a fast and dirty test of the pattern to see if the conception even goes together properly.

Testing -  a group of people over all the sizes offered to sew up the pattern and all it's options to see if they all work correctly for what has been drafted, sometimes the testing step can require multiple garments to be sewn to make sure the fit is just right.

Releasing - a pattern becomes open to the general public for sale.

Testing is my favorite step, by far! I love the challenge of needing to figure out a new pattern and decide if it fits the way the designer intended and help figure out ways to make the pattern even better while keeping the designer's vision intact. Not to mention the fact that I basically get forced into making 2 or 3 beautiful new garments in a very short time.

So, here we are at the beginning of my E&M testing career and the first thing I get to test is the beautiful Tulip Dress and Tunic. I couldn't believe I had signed up for such a beautiful and SEXY dress. What on earth was I thinking? There was no way I could squeeze myself into a figure-fitting dress and then take pictures and show it off all over the internet!!

Fabric is 10 oz 2-tone Denim Blue Cotton Lycra Jersey and Bubblegum Cotton Lycra Jersey from Surge Fabric Shop.

But I did! And guess what? The dress was so flattering and so comfortable!! And I felt beautiful!!

All photos credited to my wonderful husband, Coby!

The ruching was a little difficult to work out at first, but by the time I got to the third dress it was simple and the whole dress came together like a dream!

The Tulip Dress and Tunic has a long, narrow scoop neck and several options to make the dress/tunic perfect. The options include different sleeve lengths: short, 3/4 and long. I have even seen the pattern hacked to be sleeveless (she used a thin facing to avoid bands). The dress has 2 lengthen and shorten lines to help with tall and short fitting. I needed them quite desperately because I'm 5 inches shorter then what the pattern is drafted for. This pattern can also be shortened into a tunic! That's pretty impressive! I need to get a tunic made because I love this pattern!

I am so grateful for the chance to test the Tulip Dress and Tunic and can't wait to make more!!

Be sure to swing past Ellie & Mac and check out this dress and all of their other great patterns!

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