I bought this Simplicity 8926 pattern initially to make the dress in View A. I liked the looseness of it. I also liked the square neck and sleeves. I thought the plaid fabric was perfect for it.
I bought my fabric online at fabricmartfabrics.com. I thought I had picked a fabric similar to what the model was wearing. The fabric I purchased was a polyester/rayon blend and satin-faced challis with the colors of rose, light tan and ruby in a plaid pattern. When it arrived, I didn’t like it. I think that’s the risk of buying online. It’s very convenient but being able to actually look at and feel the fabric is important, especially if you have something specific in mind. Lesson learned. The fabric seemed too busy for a full dress. The colors were too bright. I didn’t like the “satin-face”. So instead of making the dress that was initially planned, I decided to make the top (view C).
The top comes in 2 lengths- crop and regular length. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite state that it is a crop top in the pattern. I thought it was just a shorter version. I didn’t find out it was a crop top until later when I read some reviews online. In addition, the top comes in 2 styles- with or without trim. Suggested fabrics are batiks, challis, cotton lawn, eyelet and seersucker.
The top was fairly easy to put together. The instructions were easy to follow. I would say this pattern is good for an advanced beginner. You will be doing gathers and putting a neckline facing together.
I like the top but I didn’t like the fabric that I chose. Also, it was my first time working with plaid and I realized after sewing it together that the lines ended up slanted or crooked, not straight across on the front part.
Overall, I like this pattern. I will use it again but next time, I will make the long sleeved dress (view A) as originally planned but in a solid color. I would also like to make the regular length top but without the trim (view B).
I think that the long sleeved dress is a perfect dress for the Fall and the short sleeved dress and tops are great for the Summer months. The tops even come with pants to sew up that will match with the top!
Until then, happy sewing!
Adventures of Sweet Monday 
Hi Suzanne, Great post. I bought the same pattern with a view to making a light top for the summer. Not started it yet but I am glad I didn’t because I had planned to make it in a blue check fabric but after reading your post I think I will go with a plain fabric. I also thought I might see if I could reduce the pleats. Maybe make it in old sheeting fabric first 😉 Thanks for sharing. Flo 🙂
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Thank you, Flo! 🙂 Great idea to try the old sheeting fabric first. The blue check fabric you chose might work. I think it looks great for this pattern. But for me, I had not worked with plaid before so my lines were crooked, lol. 🙂
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