The truth about the Ansley Pattern

OK, I’ll cut to the chase, this pattern was not perfect. I found a few errors. I don’t feel good about mentioning it, and I thought for a long time how I would tackle this post and in the end I thought best just be honest.

I contacted Christie, the designer and told her about the inaccuracies I found so hopefully everything is sorted now. I didn’t want to do this blog post without a true picture of my experience. After all, there were lots of things that I really liked about the Ansley pattern which overshadowed the errors, so the truth has a positive ending.

The full colour illustrations were excellent and very clearly showed the right and wrong side of the fabric as well as contrasting fabric for the collar and cuffs.

The method for inserting the collar was something I had never done before and I love learning new sewing techniques. But I think the collar could have done with some interfacing for a more crisp finish.

I am a big fan of high low hems, that’s what attracted me to the pattern in the first place, however if I were to make another I would make it longer so as not to reveal the midriff when the arms are raised.

The turned up cuff was a nice touch but the instructions confused me and it seemed like a serged edge would be exposed. I attached the cuff my own way, which definitely wasn’t the right way but the cuff looked finished turned up and left down.

There are lots of options with the Ansley pattern, which is great. It can be a dress or a top, my ideal length would have been tunic length, but did I think of that before hand? Err nope!

It has 4 different sleeves options, regular, puff, flutter and cuffed. I would have liked a long sleeve option as it’s starting to get pretty cold around here (typical of me to want an option that was not catered for).

It has 3 collar options, I had a hard time choosing because I liked them all. And 3 hem options, basic, ruffle and bias. Not bad aye!

Changes I made

For a simple, fuss free Ansley I decided to conceal the snap fasteners behind the button placket and sew the cuffs down to make them stay in place. Had I used plain fabric I would have sewn on buttons or coloured snaps (much less scary) an idea I got from The Queen of Snaps. But the star print fabric was enough ‘action’ for me.

My button placket turned out differently to the image on the pattern, when overlapped it pulled the collar tighter together. It was totally unintentional, I don’t know how it happened, but I’m happy with the outcome.

I lined the bodice so that the inside was tidy and I lined the skirt so that the reverse of the fabric did not show. That’s the thing about a high low hems, you are better off using reversible fabric if you are not intending to line it.

The Ansley pattern has a great silhouette and if it came in adult sizes I’d be making one for me in …erm grey.

If you would like to purchase the Ansley pattern, use coupon code “ILOVEBLAVERY10” at checkout for 10% discount during the blog tour.

If you would like to see what others made for the Ansley Tour, please check out the following blogs…

November 3rd

Felt with Love – The Crazy Tailor – Rebeka Sews – Sprouting JubeJube

November 4th

Sewing Sober – Sew Starly – Filles À Maman – Work, Pray, Sew

November 5th

Lulu & Celeste – Rebel & Malice – xoxo Grandma – Sew Cool for the Tween Scene

November 6th

Paisly Roots – Ginger House Designs – Needle & Ted – The Sewing Sparrow

November 7th

Frenchie – SewOutOfControl – Made by Sara – Daisy Chain Creations