Pattern Review: Cut/Sew #16--Victorian OP
This is that pattern with the REALLY BAD promotional image.
As I’ve mentioned before, this is a really small company that probably asks friends to model their work, and who probably have limited props and are probably asking models who know nothing about lolita fashion to attempt to come up with accessories from that limited pool of props. Therefore, we will say nothing more about this image than that it does not convey the lolita aesthetic, the model’s pose makes it difficult to see the dress details, and it’d be really nice to see this dress with a petticoat. It also appears that the model is pretty tall, and therefore the dress might look shorter than it actually is on most people.
Anyhow, I bought the pattern. I haven’t made it yet, but here’s some info and my thoughts.
First of all, I ordered the pattern on 12/2/19, and it was shipped on 12/16/19. This isn’t unreasonable for a small business that probably prints the patterns after they’re ordered, but it does mean that I didn’t actually get it until 12/20/19. This is really important to know if you plan on making one of their patterns for an event. Their website says in the FAQ that they have a 3-5 business day “processing time”, but my order took 10 days (not counting weekends) to be processed for shipping.
The pattern was $20 plus shipping. This isn’t unreasonable for a small pattern house, and is just a bit more than the price of a Cosplay by McCall’s pattern.
The pattern comes in a plastic zip envelope with the pattern details attached to the front. The pattern itself is printed on standard white paper, not tissue paper, so don’t use your fabric scissors to cut it out, and don’t cut oversized. It’s multi-sized, clean and simple-looking, nicely trued at the corners and just generally professional-looking. It’s a bit simpler than your average commercial pattern, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Instructions are not printed out and included in the envelope. A link to the instructions is included on the envelope. This links to a PDF that can be printed out, so that’s not super difficult if you have average internet. It’s just an extra step. I also don’t like the worry that the company might quit hosting the instructions and a future me would be sorta outta luck if I found the pattern and wanted to make it.
The instructions assume that you’re a beginner sewer, and include steps such a seam finishes and pressing. This is really helpful if you’re new, and is pretty easy to skip over if you’re experienced.
So, the real question, can this actually be used for lolita? First of all, it’s important to understand that this pattern isn’t making the most common lolita OP. It’s making something more along the lines of the Holy Rosary OP from Angelic Pretty:
This dress has a yoke, which the pattern doesn’t have, but it’s more this style than the more typical lolita dresses are. While I haven’t made it, analysis of the pattern and measuring the hemline have lead me to believe that this pattern can successfully create a dress of this shape, if you’ve got a proper petticoat underneath it.
While this dress has a front bow and some tucks on the bodice, it doesn’t include patterns for trims that you’d usually find on a lolita dress. It doesn’t tell you to put lace on the hem or the collar cuffs, so it’ll be a bit too plain for most lolita unless you know to add things like that. It’s fun to look up existing lolita and figure out what details you want, but that can be intimidating if you’re new to sewing.
The instructions also tell you to face your pleats towards the center of the front, which is contrary to the western practice of sewing. We usually press things downward and outward, but they might have a reason for doing it as they do. I’ll definitely flip the tuck direction when I make mine, though.
So there’s just one more thing to note:
“This pattern looks best when made with stretch cotton and cotton sateen, crepe backed satin, taffeta, opaque chiffon, or silk charmeuse.”
Here, I’m going to disagree with...most of that. Stretch cotton and cotton sateen, matte polyester (such as the Joann Silky Prints line), shirtings, lightweight twills, with the potential for sheer overlays on the skirt (which you’d have to figure out yourself, but it’s pretty easy to just cut two of the skirt and sew them together at the top).
I want to say that my experience with them has been good, but bordering on neutral. However, I don’t think that fair. Here’s the thing: we need more lolita patterns that aren’t awful like Simplicity 8285. We need more lolita patterns made by someone with a vague idea of what the fashion is. We need patterns that work with few modifications, we need lolita patterns for shapes other than the basic ones. And we really, really need independent pattern houses to succeed. My experience with Cut/Sew wasn’t like the average pattern buying experience, but that’s to be expected on some level, due to the scale on which they operate. Would it have been nice for them to email me five business days after I placed my order and told me it’s take a bit longer? Yes. Would it have been nice to have printed instructions with the pattern? Yeah. However, that’s not as inconvenient as re-patterning a normie dress pattern to force it to be lolita. The lolita community really needs some patterns that work, and are aimed at new sewers.
However, I also don’t want to lie to anyone and tell them that my experience was anything other than what it was. So, here you go. My experience with this company, and my opinions on the usability of the pattern. It’ll work. That’s more than most big pattern companies are willing to give us. If the options are take it or leave it, I’ll take it.
