Sew your own With Jéan Bella Dress with this pattern Vikisews Alexia sewing pattern review and video tutorial. #withjéan #realisationpar
Skill Level : Medium
Pattern price : $2-$7 depending on language
Project price - $20-30 Approx..
Time: 1.5-2 Days
Video tutorial and pattern
I have had my eye on the With Jéan Bella dress ruffle milk maid style dress for a really long time but it was out of my price range. I came across Russian designer "Vikisews" on Instagram and fell in love with her Alexia dress which resembled the Bella dress. The milkmaid style dress pattern was selling for around $3-$7 (depending if you purchased the English or Russian version - the Russian being cheaper) and I spend about $20 on the fabric and other items, bringing my dress total to about $30 NZD ($20 USD). It took me 1.5 - 2 days to sew however, I think this could be speed up once you get a hang of how to sew the dress and the techniques learnt.
Positives
The Viki Sews patterns come in each individual size/height options. This enables you get to the perfect size and custom fitting.
The pattern comes with clear photo instructions (or you can follow my video tutorial here.
The pattern uses a lot of new techniques which are explained simply, enabling you to learn new skills quickly. These skills included rolled hems, creating tunnels for the elastic, ironing on interfacing and learning how to attach plackets and sleeves.
The sleeves can be worn on or off the shoulder
The price to make the dress vs. the actual price of the With Jean dress saves you literally hundreds of $.
Negatives
It is a timely project and took me 1.5 to 2 days to complete.
The printing, cello taping and cutting took a good 1.5 hours to complete and I didn't enjoy this process. Save yourself the time and get it printed on an A0 size paper at the a printing shop if you have the money.
You do need a serger/overlocker and you need to learn how to change your serger settings so you can create a "rolled hem" feature. While this isnt hard, it is timely. If you don't have your manual to do this you may look online.
Result - 9/10
The price, design and finishing's of the garment made this dress pattern an incredible value for money. Not only did the pattern turn out adorable and I get so many compliments when I wear it but I also learnt a lot of new techniques in the process and increased my sewing knowledge immensely. Make your own here.
