Akinori Dress sewing pattern

I made this dress from a cotton poplin and found it so comfortable and flattering to wear I made another straight away.

This pattern challenged me with the folding of the pleats on the front. With advice quickly received from Christina I managed it and constructed the front. I really like the pleats which give a very flattering fit when combined with the ties. I did read the pattern to know to finish the edges of the facings after I'd ironed on the interfacing. I chose to French seam the shoulders, front and sides as my way of finishing these seams. I lengthened the dress at the appropriate lines on the pattern as I don't like my dresses above the knee. The dress hem width even below the knee was still great to walk in without restriction. The pattern steps were all in a logic order that I followed and have enable me to produce 2 Akinori dresses that I love.

I will be using this pattern again as soon as I see the next perfect fabric for it.

Just a beautiful feminine styled dress with stylish features. Perfect for party's and dinners by candlelight. Easy to pul on (no zipper or buttons) but with the tie belt you create a perfect fitted dress due to the clever design.

I like the dress and I'm pleased with how it turned out.. The directions are very sparse. If one isn't experienced, it's going to be very difficult to make this dress without asking for help. The markings for the front pleats had no arrows, and the pleated skirt didn't match the width of my bodice. Nowhere in the directions did it mention to finish the facings. After I had gone through the process of making the front yoke, I had to remove it to finish my front facing. There were no instructions to understitch the neck and arm facings. There are no instructions on finishing the seams. With wovens, it's absolutely necessary to finish the seams. Even though it's listed as 3/4 difficulty, it didn't need to be. After the facing and finishes issues, since there was a lot of ease, I ditched the instructions and completed my dress using French seams. Had I made a muslin, I'd have completely reworked the construction to use French seams for the shoulders, too, and changed the way the front and neck facings are joined. The dress is unique and I like it. The construction was iffy at best. Definitely not a pattern for a beginner. Which is sad, as it's not a complicated garment to put together, but because of the sparse directions, someone without experience would definitely struggle. I gave it 3 stars because I like the finished product, but I give 2 stars on directions, which made a simple project difficult, and the inside finishing instructions were very lacking.

I love this design! The fit was spot on for me and I love how unique and flattering the design is. I've already made 2! I've been wanting to make this forever but was a little intimidated because it looked complex. It was much more simple than I thought...wish I hadn't waited so long!

Love this dress! The whole time I was sewing this dress I was already planning on making more. It looks so great on everyone that has made it no matter body type. I adore all patterns from WBM and this one amazing.