The Hipster Dress by Ellie and Mac

Today, I am going to talk about my latest sewing project, the Hipster Dress by Ellie and Mac. I love this dress pattern. It is easy to sew, stylish, and can be worn for a casual everyday look. It’s like a Hoodie that just forgot to stop!

The Hipster Dress comes in two styles; a hooded dress and a dress with a cowl collar. There are bands on the sleeved and bottom hem, and side slits. They also show it in two lengths. I went for the midi. Another important point-the Hipster has pockets!

There is a sew-along for the Hipster on Ellie & Mac’s YouTube channel. Check it out here.

And yes, it doesn’t look very Spring forward. I consider myself a seasonless seamstress. I make what I want to make and when I want to make it. I live in a four-season climate and know that whatever I make will always be worn sometime. Let’s call this early Spring (it is still dipping to twenty-nine degrees here at night) and remember, it is starting to be Fall somewhere in this world.

Ellie & Mac’s illustration of The Hipster

Ellie and Mac’s sizes are very inclusive, ranging from XXS to 5XL. This dress was designed to fit everybody. Their women’s sizing is based on their “Curvey Scale.” They also have uni-sex patterns that are sized on their “Straight-Loose fit.”

I also want to mention that Ellie and Mac’s pattern instruction is all step-by-step photographs. There are no drawings. As mentioned above, they also have a tutorial on how to make this pattern.

Getting Started

Ellie and Mac patterns are all PDF only. The first step is downloading, printing, and taping. They do offer a copyshop version in the download, but I have yet to venture into that. I just put on some music or a podcast and tape away!

But, there is still one more thing I have to do to most patterns and that is a “Full Bust Adjustment” I decided to use my hip measurement as the base measurement and made the Medium. I probably could have gotten away with the small but wanted to make sure I had a lot of ease,

Above is what a normal pattern looks like when I get finished. Working with a knit means that I didn’t have to actually make the dart that you see. I just eased the extra fabric in when I sewed and I added a small bump out too. It just gives me a little more ease.

What you can’t see (well, you can see the very beginning of it), is that I had to adjust the hip area (take out fabric) to make up for the extra width that I added to the bust area.

There are many tutorials on YouTube on how to do bust adjustments. A really good one from The National Sewing Circle. I usually try to pick my size according to my shoulders, neckline, and high bust. It is important never to pick a pattern according to the full bust. If I did that, things would fall off me (which is a problem when I try to buy ready-to-wear.)

The Fabric

According to Ellie and Mac,

“This pattern is most successful when 50%, 4-way knit fabrics with good recovery are used. If the fabric has much more than 50%, the garment may fit looser and appear less structured. If the fabric has much less stretch, the garment will fit tighter and not drape as well. Fabric options may include, but are not limited to: Cotton Lycra, Bamboo French Terry, Stretch Hacci, and polyester blends.”

The knit I used had been in my stash for quite a while. I bought it from Hancock Fabrics (a store that I still really miss). Not being sure what the fiber content was, I did a burn test and know that it is mainly a cotton knit.

There wasn’t enough fabric for the hood lining. I went to ETSY because I like quite a few fabric shops there and found some very lightweight knits. From High End Fabrics, I found a lux micro model silk jersey that was perfect for lining. Even though there’s silk in it, it washes like a dream but has since sold out.

Sewing It Up

After basting my pieces, I used a four-thread overlock serged seam to sew it up. I reinforced the shoulder seams with tape. Also, I don’t like a raw serged seam around the neckline of knit cardigans or in this case, a dress with a hood. I cut a strip and attached it with a hand stitch. It gives a much nicer finish. And then, there are my tags, again from an ETSY shop.

Adding a Little Extra

After finishing The Hipster and trying it on, I thought that I wanted to add something to jazz it up a bit. Looking through my stash, I found plaid grosgrain ribbon and hand-stitched it around the edge of the hood’s inside.

Finally…

My oldest Michelle and I in our handmades Saturday night. She crocheted her vest and sewed her bodysuit and I wore my Hipster

I can see myself making more of these Hipsters in different colors. Just thinking about one in French Terry gives me fuzzy feelings inside. Also, I wonder what kangaroo pockets would look like with one. This design has so many possibilities.

The Hipster is my fourth Ellie and Mac; three for me and a dog shirt for Dylan, our Mountain Fiest dog whose age finally caught up with and and passed away a couple of years ago.

I have quite a few Ellie & Mac patterns. For their style, they are a great value and they have good sales every week. It’s handy to get on their mailing list and get updates. They only design (at this point) for knits. If you haven’t sewn with knits before, E & M is a great price point to get you started.

Besides women, they have patterns for children, dolls, and yes, even your four-legged friend. I have also gotten some machine embroideries from them, but find they are not easily found on the site (they are listed at the very bottom of the Home Page. under “Embroideries.”)

Another plus is that Ellie & Mac have a nice community with a YouTube channel and a very active Facebook group.

This was a fun and successful sewn experience. I was joking with my daughter Michelle, that I have been pretty predictable. These days, either I am making a zero waste, Cashmerette, or Ellie and Mac Pattern. And I can tell you that my next pattern is zero waste. Someday, I will get back to my Vogue patterns and try some other independent designers……someday.

That’s it, Take care and talk to you later.

My Previous Ellie & Mac Patterns

The Paper Bag Pants

The Doggie Hoodie

The Go Exploring Cardigan