As a Sew Over It Pattern Insider, I had the opportunity to test Sew Over It’s latest pattern, the Kitty Dress. I love a good shirt dress (here and here) and this one is perfect with lots of design details and options that make it unique – a shawl collar, a gathered or paneled skirt, and your choice of sleeves or no sleeves at all.

It’s the design of the Kitty dress that makes it tick all the boxes for me. It’s so versatile- – two bodice and skirt styles that you can mix and match!  You can choose a princess seam bodice or a two-dart bodice. Both choices can be paired with one of two skirts: either paneled or a gathered option.  Both skirts feature in-seam pockets, and all versions are cinched in at the waist with a waistband, which makes them look great on everyone.

If I had to rate the difficulty of this pattern, I’d say it’s a great option for an intermediate sewer, or for a beginner who wants to learn some new skills. The instructions are detailed and helpful, so it’s easy to dive right in!

It’s no secret that I love sewing patterns that give you options so that you can play and modify as inspired. At first, since I’m a fan of a bodice with princess seams, I was drawn to option 1, but when I made my fabric choice, I changed to option two. My rayon print is colorful, and I felt the princess seam detail would be lost in the fabric’s design. So, instead, I paired the double-darted bodice option with the gathered skirt.

I love long flow-y dresses in the Spring and Summer, so I made my Kitty dress from a lovely rayon from Joanns’. This rayon has a bit of texture to it, giving it a casual crinkled look that I love. The drape of this rayon is perfect for my mid-length Kitty because it gives the skirt some swish! For added style, I chose the shawl collar, which has a bit of a vintage vibe.

The double darted bodice was easy to sew – -just two pattern pieces, both shaped nicely by bust darts and waist darts. Because I have a large waist relative to my bust measurement, I made a test version to make sure the fit was accurate, and I’m glad I did.  I quickly realized the darts needed to be widened slightly to compensate for my non-standard waist.

Fitting the gathered skirt was easy. I used my hip measurements to choose the size to cut and it worked great without adjustments. Gathered skirts are so forgiving and so easy to sew!! I love the way this skirt looks and swishes in the mid-calf length. It’s all I was hoping it woud be.

I love my Kitty dress, so much, version one is in my sewing queue( princess seams and sleeveless), maybe in a cotton lawn or linen for summer. The updated version of the Kitty is available at Sew Over It now.

The weather here in Portland is improving – I hope to take my Kitty outside for a test run soon!

Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by.

.