Ottobre Spring/Summer 2/2013, #19: Twist Neckline Dress

Overview

Ottobre 2/2013 #19 is a V-neck knee length knit dress with a twist front, three-quarters slim sleeves, pleats directly below the bust, A-line skirt, and gathered waistband overlay. The front bodice is self lined.

Ottobre also offers this dress as a tunic-length top.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ottobre, they are an independent pattern company based out of Finland. They primarily publish pattern magazines for women and children, though in past years have also had the occasional “family” issue with patterns for men as well.

Ottobre specializes in a Scandinavian sort of style – simple, minimalist, functional basics that are comfortable to wear. Sexy, extravagent Marfy they are not! They often feature a wide range of sizes and use ordinary people as their models rather than professional fashion models as they are adamant that they want to represent the average person sewing their patterns, rather than a fashion world ideal. I once saw someone online scoff at Ottobre as “clothing for housewives.” Well, I’m going to be a housewife/stay-at-home mom soon enough, so that works for me!

Alterations

I started from a size 42 and made the following alterations:

• 3/8″ sloped shoulder alteration
• 3/8″ forward shoulder alteration
• Added a total of 5″ to the hips
• Removed 1″ from the back waist and transferred 1″ to the front waist

I probably could have cinched in the side seams a little more directly below the bust, but I decided to leave it alone. I went from a 32/34 bra band pre-pregnancy to a solid 36 band, and there’s a good chance my ribcage (along with everything else!) will continue to increase as my pregnancy gets further along. (I’m about six months along at this point). I’m trying to make my clothes last as long as possible these days so I’m all about stretchy fabrics and a slightly looser fit. I am apparently not one of those lucky women that just gets a cute little bump and more or less stays the same everywhere else!

Materials

The fabric I used was a stretchy purple knit from Gorgeous Fabrics (still some in stock). I believe it is mismarked as while the description says rayon/lycra jersey, the dry hand and slightly stiffer drape feels more like a cotton/lycra jersey.

I used 3/8″ clear elastic to gather the skirt pieces at the center front and center back, and superfine Design Plus fusible stay tape to stabilize the shoulder seams and neckline.

Notes

This is a great second trimester dress, especially for the pear shaped. The skirt and gathering provide so much room during a time when regular clothes are getting harder to fit but full-on maternity tops and dresses are still too roomy in the belly. It would also be great for that awkward time earlier in pregnancy where you’re more bloat than baby. It is really, really comfortable! I also like the deep V neckline, which helps a lot with feeling less frumpy. So many RTW maternity clothes are rather modest at the neckline, which doesn’t make sense to me because this is the first time for a lot of us where we actually have a bust!

I found the front twist detail rather maddening, both to understand and sew. I was struggling with some lingering fatigue from my bout of Covid in mid March, and it took me a while to figure out what certain parts of the instructions meant when making the insert at the center front where the twist detail is. Then, I found it just as maddening and fussy to actually sew the front twist detail at the center front, as you are working around a lot of bulk with the twist detail and a small seam allowance. I ended up sewing this section on my sewing machine using a zigzag stitch because it was simply too tight and bulky for my serger presser foot. But once I got that part figured out the dress went together very easily, and I had it done in time to wear for Easter a few weeks ago.