Pattern Reviews
Syd Tie Dress
24—April 2024
Read our review of the Syd Tie Top and Dress pattern, made up in a bright apple green linen!
The Syd Tie Top + Dress is a beginner-friendly sewing pattern by Oregon-based creative pattern maker, Sydney Graham. A versatile and sweet style, the Syd pattern features a signature front tie closure and loads of options. You can find Sydney's patterns over on Etsy, as well as a myriad of tutorials and inspiration here on Instagram. Read on for our pattern review, very kindly modelled by Charlotte from our Online Store team.
Syd Tie Top & Dress — Syd Graham Patterns
The Syd Tie Top + Dress pattern offers options to make either a loose, full length top or a flowy, tiered, mid-calf length dress. With either option you have the choice to add a 3/4-length puffy sleeve or go sleeveless, and all options feature the patterns signature tie-front closure. We decided to try the dress version with full length sleeves out using a vibrant apple green midweight linen. The pattern comes in sizes 0 - 34, which correlate to 31"-61" Bust, 24"-54" Waist and 34"-65" Hip. Our size 16 took approximately 3.5m of the 137cm wide plain weave linen, 1m of 1cm wide elastic and several spools of thread. This sewing pattern is designed for a confident beginner and has beginner friendly sewing instructions, illustrations, and an accompanying video tutorial to make the construction easy to follow. We would agree with the difficulty level, with just a couple of areas requiring close attention to the tutorials. The fit was true to size and comfortable for Charlotte, and she made a shortening adjustment to the hem length for her 154cm height.
We loved the little personal touches and words of encouragement throughout the pattern! After finishing the bodice and the tricky mitered cornered facing, there is a sweet side note saying "Btw, this would be a great time to take a pic - maybe brag to your friends about being a mitered corner wizard."
Overall this was a great sew! We'd highly recommend trying it out if you are looking for a versatile pattern with dress and top options. Download the Syd Tie Top + Dress pattern from Etsy here.
Syd Graham recommend woven light-mid weight fabrics with moderate or fluid drape for this pattern, which made our midweight linen a perfect match! A firmer less drapey fabric would give the sleeves more structure, so the choice depends on how you want the end result to look and feel. We love how this turned out in linen! A few other fabric suggestions from our Online Store can be found below. From top to bottom is Midweight Linen - Buttercream, Hibiscus Stripe Linen / Viscose - Red / Green, Cotton / Tencel Check - Beige Mix and Liberty Piccadilly Poplin - Paisley Feather / C.
