Sen Ritsu Bedford Dresses

FYI, indie pattern designers, your blog tours totally work.

I liked Brooklyn Pattern Co. immediately from her launch. (Yes,  I am biased—I love Brooklyn, our old home, and I ♥ NY. Plus, it is where Louisa was born!)

I fell in love with the Bedford Dress when I saw this version (by Andreia of In a Manner of Sewing) during the Henry & Bedford blog tour this July. I bought the Bedford right away and ordered a bunch of nani IRO (always on my wish list) to make a total copycat version.

Erin, the pattern designer, calls this dress a "medium" difficulty. I consider myself pretty good seamstress, but doing the thin strap area was tricky. I am a perfectionist so I was a little disappointed with the straps/neckline, especially where the straps get thin. I probably should have picked apart the seam and tried again. The slightest waver in your stitching is pretty obvious at that scale. And double gauze moves around a bit so it wasn't the most forgiving.

I also didn't do the best job getting the zipper lined up at the top. I actually put it in too low on Louisa's—see above—and didn't realize until it was too late to bother correcting.

Zippers are from Zipit on etsy.

I have inserted photographic evidence of wonkiness below! I prefer versions (like this one) with thicker straps, so next time I will tighten up my seam allowances.

I made Lottie a size 18 months. She just turned one, but that is the smallest size of the pattern. It is maybe just a tad big—the straps float up when she sits down.

I made Louisa the size 7, and lengthened it to the size 8 because she is very tall for her age (which is 7, and which is also her normal RTW size).

Well, it is WAY too big. Way, way, way too big. It doesn't look too bad in some of these photographs, but you can see how much gaping there is around the racer back and under arms, and it looks a little silly in real life. I wanted it to fit her next summer, since I didn't sew it until August, but I think it will still fit her in two summers!

But that is one of the things that drew me to this pattern—it is a design that works for any age, and won't look too "little girly" on an 8 or 9 year old.

Unless I missed it, the instructions do not address finishing the bottom edge of the facings. I serged them, as you can see.

Lovvvve this fabric!

In other news, Lottie is so close to walking! But still hasn't taken that first step on her own. We have loved her babyhood!

Thanks for reading!