As I’ve talked about before, Ree has a skin condition called Icthyosis and spends most of her days in footie pajamas to keep her from scratching herself raw.  Over the last 6 months or so though, we’ve been able to put her in pants & shirts as long as she has tights on under the pants (her legs and face are the worst affected).  That has presented a problem though, the poor girl has next to no regular shirts!  So making her some new shirts has been on my list and I’m finally getting there.

A month or so ago, I saw a review of the Somerset Hoodie over on From an Igloo.  She raved about it so I hopped on over to MamaStellato on Etsy and snatched up a copy.  I just got a chance to use the pattern last week, and figured I’d write up a little review as I went.

I let Ree pick out the fabric she wanted, and she decided on this awesome ’80′s flashback floral.  I made a size 2t, to make sure it would be big enough to fit (and hopefully room to layer if necessary).  As you can see its PLENTY big-Ree right now is running right in between a 12-18 mo. and 18-24 mo. So this is perfect for what I wanted.

Now for my nitty gritty review of this pattern (keep in mind I do alot of pattern testing so I’m used to being VERY detail oriented when sewing straight from a pattern).

• This pattern is for knits of course, but stretch direction isn’t marked on the pattern pieces.  While not an issue necessarily for an experienced seamstress, if this is your first foray into knits you’ll have very disappointing results if you place the pieces the wrong way.
• Part of the pattern pieces (that are to be cut on the fold) have the “fold” side marked, and part don’t.  I think the only piece this might be a real issue with is the front bottom piece as it’s a rectangle and not obvious which end is up.
• I trace ALL of my patterns before use, and doing so is something I always recommend for lots of reasons.  I also always trace all the sizes at one time because I REALLY don’t like to trace so it gets it all done at one time lol.  What this has to do with this pattern?  Well, some of the lines are yellow or orange, which are really difficult to see through the pattern tracing paper (I use Patternease, which is probably average thickness for any tracing medium).

Now, those are the gripes, time for the positive:

• The pattern pieces are all clearly marked and really well done.  Sometimes with PDF patterns the lines from page to page don’t line up well, that is not the case with this pattern.  Everything lined up perfectly.
• The step by step instructions (with pictures!!!) are wonderfully done.  They are all clear and very easy to follow.
• This is a quick sew!  Even with near constant interruptions from all 5 kiddos I had this done in right around an hour. The dress took longer, but that’s because of the gathering.
• The design leaves lots of room for embellishment, and that is likely something you’ll see more of here.  Ree loves her hoodie so I’ll definitely be making more!

Now, this is an absolutely terrible picture I  know..it was first thing in the morning when there is very little natural light.  To make the dress, I totally stole From an Igloo’s idea.  Cut the back the same length as the front bodice, I cut the skirt at 14″ long x the width of the fabric, gathered and attached.  Then I did the bottom band all the way around.  This is a size 12-18 months (there is no 18-24 mo. on the pattern, which I thought was odd but no biggie), and Ree loves this too.  So I’ll be making more of these as well!

Overall, this is really a great pattern and one I’m very glad I purchased.  I plan on making some out of French Terry to be a bit more “sweatshirt” like..or maybe even lining in fleece?  I’ll have to play around and see.  Regardless, hop on over to Mama Stellato’s and grab a copy, it has sizes from 6 mo.-6, so its a fabulous value!