DIBY Club Rosa Tulip Dress

When the gals at DIBY Club contacted me about partnering with them and reviewing a couple of their patterns I was thrilled and jumped at the chance.  I’d heard amazing things about their patterns and their Facebook Group is such an incredible, supportive community that I love following.   Their patterns are always popping up as favorites of my sewing friends and I had been wanting to try them out for myself.

When scrolling through their pattern library, I was amazed by the variety.  They have a dozen free patterns if you’re wanting to try one out for yourself.  They have men’s, women’s, and children’s patterns but I knew I was going to be selfish with this one- I wanted to sew up something just for me!  Heading into summer, I’ve been wanting to add a few more dresses to my wardrobe.  I settled on the Helen and Rosa Dresses, two knit dresses that will be great additions in my closet.

I sewed up the Rosa Dress for this review and couldn’t be happier with my new dress.  The Rosa is a beautiful dolman sleeve bodice with a fun tulip, crossover skirt.  The pattern comes in sizes 00-36, features multiple sleeve lengths, crew and scoop necklines, and shirt, knee, and maxi lengths.  It’s rated for experienced beginner sewists and is full of amazing tips throughout the in-depth tutorial.  Before beginning, I looked over the tutorials for both the Helen and the Rosa.  I was so impressed by the attention to detail, the thorough fit and alteration sections, and the clear illustrations.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these patterns to someone just starting out sewing.  These patterns offer a little more ‘hand holding’ than some making things so easy to understand.

The measurement charts are in-depth and help to achieve the perfect fit.  I fell into a 4 chest and hips with an 8 waist.  I used the instructions to grade the waist out (the pattern pieces include so many reference points so it’s easy to determine where to grade) and also added length to the bodice and skirt pieces according to the tutorial as well.   I’ve found that as I sew up patterns, I tend to change lots of construction methods just for my own personal preference.  With this pattern I changed two simple things- I tacked the sleeve cuffs with my machine instead of by hand (hello lazy sewist) and I sewed the belt altogether right sides together and left a small hole to turn it instead of sewing one long side after you’ve sewn and flipped the other three seams.  I think this says a lot about the construction and tutorial of this pattern.  Not that the way I do things is neccesarily the ‘right’ way but that I trusted or would have naturally done things per the tutorial made it an easy, comfortable sewing experience.

The waist sash is one of my favorite details!

I also really adore that the back skirt piece has some shaping with the center back seam and is not gathered.  This creates a sleek, flattering silhouette.

My fabric came from Raspberry Creek Fabrics.  I love that these colors feel seasonless and I can wear it layered under a cardigan or denim jacket in cooler weather.

I’m lovin’ my new dress and am excited to sew up the Helen.  I’ll for sure be turning to DIBY Club in the future and would totally recommend giving them a try.  Great pattern, amazing tutorial, incredible fit, and beautiful finished product!  What more could you ask for?!

Check out their free patterns here, all their women’s patterns, or grab a dress pattern or two!