SBCC Vesper dress

25 comments

This is me being peanut butter and jealous over most of you. Many of you are enjoying cool weather, hoodies and coats, pretty fall leaves, and are probably chugging pumpkin spice lattes as you are reading this. Ok, I'm not actually jealous of the PSL situation (never had one), but I am jealous of your weather. Oh, it's just the end of October and it's in the eighties every damn day here. It's not fall weather!!!! The only thing that is getting me through today is my new Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick (SBCC) Vesper dress.

Betsy, the owner/designer of the company, wrote up this blurb about herself which I would like to share with you in case some of you aren't familiar with SBCC.
"Skinny Bitch Curvy Chick patterns is basically the lovechild of my technical skills and my OCD of making things. Each pattern starts with a selfish intent: It's something I want to wear and make many, many times over. I love the frilly fancy stuff, but I am far to practical to make a pattern for a one-off. My philosophy is that any sewing projects you invest the time in should be meaningful and work well for your figure and shape.
I've done my time in the fashion industry, working with patterns for the last 10 years for ready-to-wear, fitting all shapes and sizes---and still going. I've also been sewing since I was around 3 years old, whipping out doll clothes on my little plastic sewing machine, but thankfully I have now graduated to my faithful Juki industrial, which is my partner in crime. I live in the NYC metro area, and don't even have a car, but my sewing machine probably has more miles on it then the average clunker. "
When SBCC  released the Vesper dress it was love at first sight. And lucky me, Betsy contacted me and asked if I would like a copy. Would I?!?!!? Side note, this is the first gift I have accepted from a company. In the past I've done a few book tours, co hosted some sewing challenges, and have purchased every single pattern and reviewed book with my own money. FYI, if I do accept gifts I only want to accept patterns/products that I would purchase with my own money and not take things just because they are free. Just wanted to put that out there since this is the first post I've done about a product I have been given. Ok, back to sewing.

SBCC is a company geared toward creating sewing patterns for petite proportioned ladies. There are many size options which is really cool to see. The XXS starts at a 30 inch bust and the 3X is a 54 inch bust.  Even though my body shape is not petite I was pleased that I didn't have to do any alterations to the pattern for this wearable muslin other than adding length. Speaking of length, the pattern pieces tripped me out for a minute. As the sizes increased it looked as though the hemline got shorter. I had never seen this before, so I emailed Betsy. She sent the following response which I am posting in case any of you come across this and get confused like me :)
To answer your question about the hem- each size is the same length. It just appears shorter based on the way I stacked the pieces when grading. You see, the armhole gets longer as sizes become bigger so then I have to go back in and adjust the body lengths. I get asked this question a lot- especially from other Indie designers I grade for - and really it is just a matter of orientation. I just like to position the stacking so it works best for editing in Illustrator and it is easier to cut out the shapes.  

At first glance some of you may be thinking, "what is so special about a maxi dress?" It's the back dude, the back is awesome! I haven't seen a pattern for a maxi dress with such a cool cut out. Of course, I am not doing the pattern the justice it deserves. Instead of making bias tape out of the fabric itself, I used store bought tape. I think that if I used the fabric instead of the bias tape it would lay tighter against my back (see photo below for a better example of bagginess). It didn't work as I had hoped, so live and learn, right?

Despite how complicated the criss crossing action may look at first glance, it's really very straightforward. There are two main pattern pieces (back and front) and that's it. The most time consuming part was applying the black bias tape to the cotton jersey fabric. The bulk of my sewing was split between two days, but speedier sewers could easily get this done in a day.

The directions were well written and I had no trouble at all following and understanding them. Each step is accompanied by an illustration, making the instructions even easier to follow. Vesper is beginner friendly and I think it would even be a good first knit sewing project.


The only problem with this pattern is hiding bra straps. In these photos I'm wearing a racerback from American Apparel and it works ok, but I might be fidgety and end up adjusting my straps to keep them hidden throughout the day. On version two (yes, I already have the fabric planned for my next version) I might try and be adventurous and see if I can sew in some sort of bra substitute... Any tips? Of course, if I plan a winter version I won't have to worry about the straps in the back showing since I will be wearing a sweater or light coat.


Have any of you sewn a SBCC pattern? I think I'm going to make a Mimosa next!

25 comments :

  1. oh, I holy effing WANT that pattern! The back is amazing, and I love the little box pleat in the front. Super cute dress Erin, it looks awesome on you. In other news, I finished up my Cat Lady dress this last weekend, I need to post pics to the pool soon!

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  2. I'm so jealous right now of people in cold weather states, too! Yesterday I had my first PSL of the season because it was just cool enough in the morning to feel appropriate. I'll have to check out SBCC patterns since I'm majorly on the petite scale. The dress is so flattering on you!

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  3. Awe yeah the back IS awesome! Love the color too!

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  4. I agree, the back is the best part! Looks great on you!

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  5. I love this dress! It's such a cool design. Glad to hear it works for non-petites.
    And I for one am enjoying our warm weather - October is our summer, since we have gloom June through August!
    Check out Nhi's version of this pattern (http://www.detectivehoundstooth.com/sbcc-vesper/), she added a shelf bra with cups to hers.

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  6. Your dress is gorgeous! What's not to love about a maxi, and the back is fab. I have to say though that I was a bit jealous when I noticed that you are wearing flip flops in your photos! I love my flip flops in the summer, but I'm in the UK, and there's no way I could wear them at this time of year. That said, I'm rubbish with hot weather, and I hope it cools down soon for you, Lynne.

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  7. this looks lovely! I love the back, I'd like to make this over and over again

    My etsy discount code is still live!

    http://whydidimakethat.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/what-ive-been-making.html

    https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/WhyDidIMakeThat?

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  8. This is so cool! I ran into Betsy on the street the other day and was telling her how I really want to make this dress! I haven't made any SBCC patterns... because they're drafted for petites and I'm SO lazy about pattern alterations (I seriously procrastinate for the longest time when I know I need to make changes). But. This is so cute and definitely worth altering! I love it on you!

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  9. This is so awesome! What a cute maxi dress - I love the sexy back detail! Never made an SBCC pattern since I'm not petite, but this one seems like it would be pretty easy to alter since you'd mostly be altering for length - correct? Anyone, love your version! It's so flattering!!!

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  10. This really funky and the back detail is really neat. I get too hot in maxis over summer but at knee length could be cute too

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  11. I don't know what others have had to do when it comes to changes, but for me I just had to alter the length.


    Thanks, Sallie! xoxoxo

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  12. What?!??!! You met Betsy?!?!!?! Jealous!!!! Was she super cool? And I could totally see you in this dress, Sonja. Honestly, I was worried about alterations too (that's why this is my wearable muslin), but all I had to do was add length. I did have to add quite a bit of length, so I would suggest buying some extra fabric if you do decide to make one.

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  13. Girl, don't be jealous! It's way to hot here right now! I'm praying for rain and some cool weather :)

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  14. oooooh her version is awesome!!!! I may have to try something like that for my next version, thanks for sending me the link!


    Ok, you guys have had gloomy weather?!?! What's up with that? We have had little to no fog this summer. I'm bummed because I actually like the fog!

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  15. I think you will like her patterns. There are some really cute ones. Now that I know petite patterns work for me I'm going to order Mimosa and some others!

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  16. Awww thanks, Cadi! What an awesome comment! xoxo

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  17. Very cute! And I love how it is matchy with you headband too :) I know that it says on the SBCC website that no extra trims are needed, but have you considered adding some clear elastic or stay tape to the back part that is pooching out? That might help as well....perhaps....I'm still learning how to use things like that myself.

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  18. I see Aleah beat me to the punch. Thanks Aleah! It's still hot here, too. In the 80s today except for my brief time in the valley where it was in the 90s. I'll probably be wearing this dress come Thanksgiving if this weather continues.

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  19. Great dress. The colour looks good on you. I really like the black and green combo.
    Looks very comfortable.

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  20. Omg Erin this dress is SO BEAUTIFUL! The back is fan-freaking-tastic and the dress fits you so well. Plus, that color green looks great on you. You should knit something in that color next :) Okay now I'm off to look at the SBCC website!

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  21. this is a great design! I love a good maxi dress! between the pleat in the front and THAT.BACK. it is a super solid good looking dress!

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  22. The back is TOTALLY cool!!! I love it, you look fabulous! And don't be jealous - it's frickin freezing here, I'm sitting here in two layers of wool, getting cold just looking at you! LOL

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