Thursday, March 24, 2022

Paradise Patterns Smultron Dress

Ohhhhh boy! All the heart eyes for this one! 

Smultron Dress

My jaw dropped when I saw the Paradise Patterns Smultron Dress on IG for the first time. Much like the Hallon Dress, I thought it looked fun, flirty, and unique. When I found out my husband and I are going to Hawaii in May, I ordered a bunch of rayon wovens from LA Finch Fabrics, and the first one became this dress!

Smultron Dress

The Smultron has a straight or V-neck option, and a back elastic or back ties with slit option. They can be mixed and matched. There are also directions in the pattern for adding an additional tier to the bottom to make the dress longer. I made the V-neck option with the tie back, no extra length.


I previously made two Hallon Dresses in a size 4 and was happy with the fit (aside from the length) and I measured in a size 4 for the Smultron. I made a 4 as drafted and again, I'm happy with the fit! 


At first, I was going to make adjustable straps just like I did with the Hallon. The Hallon has wider straps, where as the Smultron is a spaghetti strap. The slides look silly and weren't effective anyway, so I removed them, but I left the rings.


I admit, I stopped following the directions when it came time to put the yoke onto the dress. Somehow I got mixed up on which piece was the facing and which was the outer. In a solid colored dress it wouldn't matter, but I preferred one cut of my print over the other. So, I abandoned whatever order the directions were giving me and did my own thing. 

I also opted not to topstitch around the entire yoke. I only topstitched in the places where I turned the facing under.


I resisted this pattern for a while because I was afraid of the bias cut, especially since I knew I wanted a drapey rayon. It turned out not to be that bad at all! The Hallon Dress was a PITA to cut because the pattern pieces were so long, but the Smultron is shorter and I could manage cutting on my smallish table. 

Another bonus to the Smultron is that the back is juuuuuuust high enough to hide a strapless bra. I was not expecting that and it was a pleasant surprise. The ties and the bow cover up the bra band; if you made the view without the ties I think the elastic would hold the back high enough.


This dress is SO floaty and amazing! I definitely will be wearing it with boy shorts underneath though. I'm 5'4" so if you're taller than me keep the length in mind.

Hawaii here I come!

1 comment:

  1. I love these two patterns too and your dress turned out great.

    ReplyDelete

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