Friday, March 29, 2024

Puperita – Kawaii Fun Dress Review

I’m really torn about writing this review, because, I’m gonna be honest – it’s not going to be positive.  But at the end of the day, this blog is purely being written for me.  It’s a sewing journal, if you will, that I often look back at when looking for a specific pattern for an outfit I have in mind.  So, although I love the look of the finished products some people have achieved with the Puperita Kawaii Fun dress pattern, I need to be honest and say it didn’t work out for me.

For this review, I made view A which is the banded arm style of the Kawaii Fun dress.  I also had to hack it to get it to a point that was wearable so it doesn’t look like it should.

What I Loved

  • Layers are available for the PDF file so you only need to print the size you need.  This pattern runs from newborn to age 10.
  • Copy shop and projector versions of the pattern come included.
  • You get two different styles included with the pattern so can make either the banded version I went for, or a more “girly” flutter sleeve, which is super cute.
  • It’s easy to contrast fabrics with this pattern, so the bodice at least can help you to utilise scraps of fabrics you love.
  • Photos accompany most of the steps which is useful for beginners.

What Wasn’t So Great

  • The Puperita patterns feel really dated to me.  All of the instructions are written for those purely using sewing machines.  And, while I understand this for woven materials, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for sewing with knits.
  • The pattern is listed as a ‘beginner’s’ pattern.  I’ve been sewing for two years now and would consider myself to be slightly above this level.  However, this pattern just stumped me.  There are instructions on how to gather but they don’t make a lot of sense and still required me needing to look up YouTube videos on how to do it the way the pattern said.  Spoiler alert – no matter what I tried, absolutely nothing worked and after five attempts to do what the pattern asked me to, and my fabric getting ruined every time I unpicked, I gave up and had to hack it and attach it in a similar way to the MBJM Emi Dress.
  • I think I’ve mentioned it before in another Puperita review but the designer really needs to hire a proofreader and give all of her instructions an overhaul.  I don’t spend money on patterns to then have to try and work out what the instructions mean because they make little sense at face value (not every step, but enough of them to make this a point).  It’s fine (although still not great) when I don’t need guidance on specific things as I know how most things go together, but it’s not good enough to release stuff as a beginner’s pattern when the instructions are a mess.

Final Verdict

You can probably tell from my review that I’m pretty frustrated.  This was advertised in the Puperita Facebook group as a really quick, easy make, and I thought it would make an ideal summer dress for my six month old.  However, I just couldn’t do it.  My brain can’t just look at something and work out how it’s supposed to be done so when the instructions are poor, I struggle.  Whether it was my machine, my skills, my brain, the pattern instructions, or a combination of the four, I was close to throwing my machine out the window when it came to doing the skirt part of this dress.  I have seen others with really nice, successful makes so don’t let my review put you off if you’re reading this.  You may have much more luck than me and some of the finished ones I’ve seen do look really lovely.

The Puperita Kawaii Fun dress requires a knit fabric such as cotton jersey to make.  You can use jersey for the neckband and cuffs too although you may need to make them longer.  The PDF version can be purchased for £5.50 from the Puperita website.  It is available in sizes newborn to age 10.

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