The Dreamstress

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Scroop Dress Pattern Testing scrooppatterns.com

Call for Pattern Testers for a Medieval Inspired Modern Dress

UPDATE: Applications to test the pattern are now closed

It’s that time again! I’ve been hard at work on a new pattern for Scroop Patterns based on the dress I have NEVER worn without someone commenting on it and asking where I got it.

While I think the dress is pretty darn perfect, I need to make sure the instructions are just as perfect, and that the pattern is perfect in every size So, that means I need testers to give their opinion on those things!

If you’d like to apply to help test the dress, keep reading to learn more, and how to apply…

The Pattern:

This dress pattern features an effortless loose shape and elegant geometric patterning inspired by the Medieval garments excavated at Herjolfsnes in Greenland.

The timeless base pattern has been given a modern update with roomy pockets, fully machine sewn construction, ankle of mid-calf hem lengths, a low or high scooped neckline, and straight medieval-inspired sleeves with back seam and inset gusset or lantern sleeves.

The pattern will be available in bust sizes 30”-56” / 76.5-142cm. The loose fit over the waist and hips means that it will fit pretty much any waist and hip measurement.

It takes me approximately 3.5 hours to make this dress from start (cutting out) to finish (hemming).

The dress takes between 3y/2.8m (60”/152cm wide fabric, smallest sizes) and 5 1/8y /4.7m (45”/112cm wide fabric, largest sizes) of fabric, depending on fabric width and pattern size.

Testers:

For this test I am looking for testers who are low-intermediate or higher level sewists. Setting in the front and back triangles is slightly tricky and fiddly, but other than that this is an easy make.

To be a tester you will need to:

Be able to print patterns in A4, A0, US Letter or US full sized Copyshop paper sizes
Have the time to sew up the dress. You’ll have two weeks to make the dress, and provide feedback, and a further four days to provide photos.
Be able to photograph your make being worn, and be willing for us to share your photos on this blog and instagram.
Be over 18 years old.
Provide clear feedback
Agree to a confidentially agreement regarding the pattern

I would hugely appreciate it if testers would share their finished make once the pattern launches, but this is not mandatory. I’m asking for TESTERS, not marketers.

As always I’m looking for a range of testers. I need a spread of geographical location, body type, sewing experience, and personal style.

Based on previous calls for testers, there will be 30+ applicants in each of the most common size ranges (34-42 bust), so if you aren’t chosen, it’s not that you weren’t fabulous, it’s that there were so many applicants.

Social Media

Having a social media presence helps your chances of being chosen as a tester, but isn’t necessarily a requirement. I’m significantly more likely to choose testers who have an online social media presence, as that means I can really see and analyse their sewing, and how they think about sewing, when I’m choosing testers. I do occasionally choose testers who don’t have social media, especially if they fill a less common demographic.

The Timeline:

Applications to test the dress are open from now until 10pm Tue 16 Jul, NZ Time (unless I receive so many applications I won’t be able to consider them all properly, in which case I’ll close applications early) UPDATE: there have been so many applicants I’ll be closing the tester call at 9am on Tue 16 Jul, NZ Time

Materials:

If you’re selected to test I’ll let you know and send you the materials requirements, line drawings, and the full pattern description by 10pm NZ time on Friday the 19th of July.. This is Thur the 18th for most of the rest of the world.

Patterns:

I will send out a digital copy of the pattern to testers before 10pm NZ time on Thursday the 25th of July.

Testing & Reviewing:

Testing will go for two weeks, with a further four days to provide finished photos..

Testers will have until 10pm NZ time on Thurs the 8th of August to finish their dress and provide feedback.

They will have a further weekend, until 10pm NZ time on Mon the 12th, to provide photos

What you get:

Pattern testers will get a digital copy of the final pattern, lots of thanks, and features on my blog and IG.

Testing also offers testers an opportunity to get group and 1-1 feedback, assistance, and sewing tutorials. I’m modelling our testing process after an online class, albeit one you don’t pay for, because you’re letting me beta test the pattern on you. There’s an online group that testers can join as they wish. I’ll also be running a couple of live zoom events. I’m committed to making testing as beneficial to testers as it is to me, and to improve my testing process with every pattern I do.

To Apply to be a Tester

Applications are now closed, sorry!

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

Rate the Dress: 1890s bright purple body-con

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week: A 1920s tea gown in silk velvet

Things people loved about last week’s dress: the relaxed silhouette, the lush velvet, the gold printing, the striking colours, the dramatic sleeves, and the little buttons on the shoulders.

Things people hated about last week’s dress: the ‘matronly’ silhouette, the bulky velvet, the not-centred printing, the colour combination, the cumbersome sleeves, and the disproportionate buttons on the shoulders.

So…a mixed bag for sure! With ratings varying from perfect 10s, all the way down to devastating 1s.

My favourite comment: “I like it so much, but for the mildly embarrassing reason that the points along the shoulders and arms make me think of dinosaurs.” That is not an embarrassing reason! That’s the best reason ever! I too love any dress that makes me feel like a dinosaur!

The Total: 8 out of 10

One of the most common ratings, and very impressive for a dress that got a 10.

This week: An 1890s dress with a sexy silhouette and an eye-catching colour.

One of the main things that people disliked about the last Rate the Dress was the shape. I’m a huge fan of the sack shape as it looks great on me (despite the fact that I’m not a slender little wisp with no bust or hips), but I can definitely see that it’s not for everyone. Because so many people disliked the body-hiding tube shape, I decided that this week’s Rate the Dress needed to be very form fitting. Historical fashion wise that immediately brings to mind the early 1880s or the 1930s.

But then I found this dress…

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

It’s 1890s does Hawai’i!

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

Or, more accurately, this is the style of 1890s dress that inspired the holokū worn by every Lei Day queen and princess, every pa’u rider, and at every hula ‘auana at the Merrie Monarch festival my entire childhood.

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

All the elements are there. The long, slim sleeves. The fitted bodice, waist and hips, flowing out to a fuller skirt. The ruffle at the hem and slight train. Both a high yoked neckline and the lower square neckline are popular in modern holokū.

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

The vivid silk is, admittedly, a bit bright even for most modern Aloha wear, but the fabric would have fit in perfectly in the 1960s and 70s. I can easily imagine a watteau-backed holomu’u in it.

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

While this isn’t a common element in holokū, there is something decidedly tropical and sarong-y about the drape and wrap effect of the bodice.

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

While it’s well known that 1890’s fashion influenced Aloha wear, it may not be as well known that Hawai’i was all the rage in the 1890s. Hālau hula and ‘hula’ troupes toured America and Europe in the wake of Kalākaua’s 1881 world tour. The royal cousins Kawananakoa, Kuhio and Keliʻiahonui were educated abroad as part of the Education of Hawai’ian Youths Abroad programme. They pioneered surfing in California in 1885 and were the first male surfers in Britain in 1890, starting the worldwide craze for the sport (Ka’iulani may have beaten them by a few years). The strikingly beautiful Princess Ka’iulani enchanted both dignitaries and the public as she travelled across Europe and America campaigning for the reinstatement of the Hawai’ian monarchy after the illegal 1893 overthrow. The Wilder cousins and other descendants of the Big Five missionary families were social leaders at Harvard in the mid 1890s, where they played ukulele in glee clubs and introduced other elements of Hawai’ian culture. Europe and America were in to Hawai’i!

I can imagine a dress like this being worn by an American socialite hosting one of the royal cousins, or a Wilder or Judd, during school holidays.

Day Dress, 1890s, silk foulard with lace and velvet trim, sold by Augusta Auctions May 2017

What do you think? Are you a fan of this sexy-but-covered-up, sure-to-stand-out in any crowd frock?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment. Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting. It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5. I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.

Happy as a box of fluffy ducklings

Published by The Dreamstress

When my parents heard I was coming home to Hawai’i for a visit this June/July they asked if there was anything I particularly wanted to do while I was here.

I had one request.

“Can we hatch ducklings?”

Yes, the thing I wanted more than anything was ducklings on the farm!

Ducklings aren’t guaranteed, and take a bit of organisation. First, you actually need to need them.

Luckily my timing was perfect. My parents realised their current flocks were getting old, and it was high time they started replacing them.

Second, you need some mother ducks to get broody. My parents keep khaki campbell and harlequin ducks for eggs, and muscovy ducks to be foster parents, because muscovy ducks are really good at hatching eggs. Khaki cambells and harlequins…not so much.

Once a muscovy gets broody and begins building a nest my parents have to collect fertilised eggs from the ducks they want to hatch. These eggs go in the incubator. They have to be turned every four hours and monitored for temperature for humidity for a couple of weeks until they are developed enough be candled: checked with a light to see if they are viable and forming a duckling.

Then they wait for the muscovy to leave her nest for food, and quickly switch out the muscovy eggs for the khaki or harlequin eggs from the incubator. Then the muscovy finishes the final weeks of development.

Luckily for me, all these things turned out right, and my parents ended up with two batches of khaki campbell eggs carefully tucked under muscovy foster mums. One was due to hatch four days after I arrived, and the other 9 days later.

And they did!

Here’s Mama ‘Ekahi on her nest:

Ducks love corners. The corners of their pens are always their top choice for nests.

And it works!

The ducklings hatched on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning.

Mama was rather naughty and got off the nest to get some food while the ducklings were still hatching. However, as soon as she realised the paparazzi had turned up she rushed back to protect her babies.

We let Mum and ducklings stay in the nest until the ducklings made their own decision to leave it. Then it was time to collect them and put them in the duckling pen. Hawai’i doesn’t have many predators, but it has enough to put them in danger: feral cats, mongooses, owls and cattle egrets. So we have a cage with fine wire and a roof for when they are still little.

And moving them to the cage gives you an opportunity to cuddle them!

When the ducklings left the nest there were two unhatched eggs left. When I picked them up one of them felt alive. I held it to my ear and was sure I could hear pecking.

So we put it in the incubator (full of muscovy eggs for a muscovy nest)…

And 6 hours later this wee cutie popped out!

I dubbed her Inky!

She got a rest in the incubator overnight, and the next morning, still sporting a bit of a punk hairdo, joined her siblings in the baby pen.

And then there were 10 happy fluffy little ducklings running around under their mother’s proud and watchful eye.

Mama, perhaps ashamed of leaving the nest while they were hatching, is the most protective duck my parents have ever had! She herds her babies into a corner the minute we showed up.