Forget Me Not April Dress – Pattern Review

I made the April dress and Gemma belt by Forget Me Not patterns and I’m absolutely in love!

This pattern was an impulse purchase – I bought it on the day it was released. That’s totally uncharacteristic for me, as I tend to hum and haw about pretty much every purchase I make (“a latte, no a cappuccino, no a latte” is a bit of a running joke in our household!). But this dress pattern sang to me immediately – I’ve never seen a wavy seam line like this one, and I had to try it out.

I picked these two linens to complement the ocean wave design, and it came out exactly as I imagined it (for once!). The fabric is the bio-washed 100% linen from Higgs and Higgs in mint and ice blue.

I really like Forget Me Not. There’s something so professional about the patterns. I don’t mean that in a cold and soulless sort of way, because they are absolutely warm and full of heart. What I mean is that the patterns and instructions are incredibly neatly organised, and thorough. The attention to detail is fantastic, and everything is well thought out. The pattern just works. Jo really knows what she’s doing!

I especially love that the PDFs are layered by size (and also by bust size on this pattern) so you can print just the lines you’re interested in. And then on top of that, there is a guide telling you which pages to print depending on the view you’ve picked. This is great because 1) less wastage of paper and ink, and 2) after taping it together, it’s just brainless cutting out without having to figure out which size is which.

(I realise this is starting to sound like an ad, but I promise it isn’t! I have tested a FMN pattern in the past – the Vera top – but this is nothing to do with that.)

I made the dress in size 34 with the medium bust size, and the size 32 belt. I think ideally I probably should have graded the dress down to a 32 at the waist, as tying the belt does disrupt the wavy hem a little bit. I could take it in at the side seams but let’s face it, I probably won’t mess with it now it’s done. More room for fish and chips this way, right?

I think the waist tucks are inspired! They make the cinching of the excess more even and orderly (which this perfectionist appreciates). The keyhole finish at the back is so elegant, too – this is my first time making a closure like this, and I adore how clean it looks.

This is the longer length skirt, in the gathered view. There’s a flat view as well, but I wanted more volume. I also went with the simpler side-seam pockets rather than the advanced wavy pocket that sits in the waistline. I’m intrigued by that technique though, so I’ll have to try it next time.

The only thing I did differently to the instructions was to understitch the pocket bags, as the notes don’t instruct you to do that. I just really like understitching.

All in all, a lovely pattern and a dreamy dress!