The assembly line apron dress

This apron dress is one of the patterns that I loved from the first sight. Even though I nowadays don’t use modern patterns that much, I had to buy this pattern. Apron dresses are just so cute and this one has a beautiful shape and an interesting cut. This is also the first pattern from the Assembly line that I have ever made.

The side seams are slanted so that the lower part of them shows on the right side. The shoulder straps criss-cross at the back and the centre back has a big pleat that closes either with buttons or snaps. My favourite thing about this dress are the huge pockets. I know that everyone always gushes about dresses with pockets but it’s true that they are so handy thing to have! And the bigger the pockets are the better!

This pattern has two size ranges XS-L and XL-3XL. You can buy both size ranges, too, but it is a bit more expensive. I made the size S and it fitted me nicely without any modifications.

Finding fabric for it was not easy. I wanted something that would have some crispness and texture but still have a lovely colour. When I finally found a piece of fabric I liked I first ruined it in the wash. My beautiful denim had those ugly lighter coloured wash marks along the creases! I was annoyed as this denim had this special rustic-looking surface that added interest into the simple garment. Finally, I threw the fabric back into my washing machine with a pack of dye and dyed it back to deep indigo blue. And it worked!

Instructions for this dress are clear. They include numerous handy little sewing tips – even some that were completely new for me! The difficult steps, such as the fastening of the pleat at the centre back, have numerous clear pictures that really help. The only thing I disagree a bit is that it is not recommended to have the interfacing reaching past the seamline into the seam allowance. I have had a lot of experience with the interfacing separating from the fabric and for that reason would cut the interfacing at least a few mm past the seam line.

Sewing this apron dress was fairly easy. Still, I recommend to check the instructions even if you are an advanced sewist. The pockets have this built-in ease that you will easily forget to include if you wing it. I was lucky to struggle with the pocket alignment and thus checked the instructions just in time!

I chose to add snaps to close the back pleat of the apron dress. This is something that I don’t recommend for someone with sturdy fabric and no strength as some of the snaps have to be pressed through layers and layers of fabric. Luckily my husband had enough strength in his fingers to really squeeze the pliers. I hope they will not come loose, too!

The only little thing that I might want to change is the flare of the skirt. Of course, it depends on the viewing angle and the way I stand but in many pictures the skirt seems pretty straight and not so A-line as it looks in the pattern drawing. It might just be my shape that makes the skirt look flared when looking at it from the side view but straight when you look at it straight from the front or back. So, if I were to remake this, I’d add just a bit extra flare.

All in all, this is a great pattern to have. It has this beautiful Nordic simplicity but with a twist that makes it not boring. It looks cute and I think suits for many different bodytypes.

Thank you for reading and see you soon! Do subscribe to the blog and check out also my YouTube videos here. Happy Sewing!

Katja