Christmas Dress - Amaryllis Dress Pattern Review

When Melissa of Melly Sews and Blank Slate Patterns (*affiliate link) asked for testers for a twirly holiday dress I was so excited to be included.  The Amaryllis Dress is the perfect special occasion dress. 

There are two layers that wrap around the body making a really unique and fun shape.  The inner dress covers the front and wraps around the back where it snaps together.  That skirt portion is gathered for some fullness.

The outer dress covers the back and then wraps to the front and ties together with a big bow.  The skirt portion is a full circle skirt so there is a big twirl factor. 

There is also an option to add a tulle layer between the skirts which would make the whole thing even more precious.

It is fully reversible so you can use a fun or more casual fabric on one side, while the other can have a fancy fabric for a special event.  That adds so much wear to one dress which is a huge bonus when you're used to spending the time and effort creating a one-time use garment. 

As usual, Melissa does a great job walking you through the pattern step by step with lots of pictures to help you along the way.  It is surprisingly simple to put together for an intermediate level project.  In my opinion the most difficult part is hemming the circle skirt, but that's just the nature of a circle hemline.  Lots of spray starch and pressing make even the most slippery fabrics workable.  The satin I used was a bear, but the starch really made a huge difference. 

The Amaryllis Dress was a part of the winter Pattern Anthology collection, but it is now available to purchase on its own.  Melissa is doing a sew along this week so grab your copy here (*affiliate link) and go read the kick off post.  I'm sure she'll have more great tips to help you out with any tricky steps.

I paired the dress with a Ruffled Cardigan (*affiliate link) which is also reversible. I used white microfleece for one side and pieces of an old pink sweater that I think was handmade at some point. I wore it for years and I don't even know exactly where it came from. Maybe it was my older sister's at some point and she knows who made it? It had a mysterious coffee-colored stain on the front so I haven't been able to wear it in ages, but I thought it would make a great warm layer for Bean's new Ruffled Cardigan.

Using the pink and white pallet means it should be wearable for any Valentine's day festivities too. I knew it would be worn with the Amaryllis dress so I thought two bows might be a little over the top. I used a simple hook and eye to keep the cardigan closed, but a cute Bow Belt works well too. You can see my other Ruffled Cardigans here.

I am completely in love with this pattern and will absolutely make it again.  Any little girl that loves to twirl will LOVE this dress.  Bean is not quite into the twirling skirt thing yet, but she does say she looks like Cinderella when she wears it, hehe.