When Super Bison Patterns reached out to me to try out their patterns, I was very excited. I was in the middle of thinking up great ideas for Mama / Mini Matching dresses for my tiny girl’s 2nd Birthday Celebration, and I’d already picked out some beautiful fabric but I hadn’t landed on the perfect patterns just yet. So when I started looking into the patterns by Super Bison, and landed on the Dune and Mini Dune dresses, it was all sorted.
I committed to a LOT of sewing this month – some things with actual deadlines, some with self-imposed deadlines – so despite minimal sewing time being available to me on weekday evenings, I didn’t get started on these dresses until about a week before we planned to wear them. It was beautiful weather, mid 70s to mid 80s, and despite the fact that October equals autumn in most cases, I was feeling very confident that this thin and flowy viscose challis was still going to be a great choice come the little one’s birthday party! Just in case my timelines got a little too skinny, I started with her dress first – if I didn’t end up getting both done in time, obviously the birthday girl needed to be the one in full birthday style! (spoiler alert, I did it!)
I expected to need 2 to 3 days of sewing time (remember, my sewing time is limited – I usually get an hour max on a day that I can squeeze it in!) to complete her dress, but I was SHOCKED when I finished it in ONE weekend naptime – about an hour and a half to two hours, probably. I’m always surprised by how the tiny things come together so easily! I loved the way this pattern is constructed, and the details are great. I found this lace trim in my stash and used it as both the trim on the ruffles and as the neckline ties. I think the lace was a great accent to this bold floral print, and it really just looks so pretty on her! She measured in just under the 2 Year size, but I want her to be able to wear it as long as possible, so I sized up to the 2 Year – it is slightly large on her, but not so big as to be unwearable.
My dress took a little longer, expectedly. There are a few extra pieces in the adult version of the pattern than the children’s version, to accommodate curves and boobs and all that. I didn’t end up using a trim on my ruffles, and I’m not sure if I regret it or not! I didn’t have quite enough of the lace trim I used on the Mini version left to use the same on mine. While I found another lace trim in my stash, it wasn’t quite a match, so I chose to leave it off. For my neckline ties, I used this suede string that had just recently arrived in my mailbox tied around a great fabric purchase. Recycling!!! I love the final dress – it is soft, drapey, and comfortable. However, it ended up a little larger than I expected – I fell between 2 sizes and I chose to size up to a 40. I do wish I’d chosen to size down instead, because the combination of the drapey, flowy fabric and large size mean that this works best for me with a belt at the waist, although I’d been looking forward to a comfy, un-fitted dress. Thoughts for when you are making your own!
Unfortunately, that beautiful weather that we’d had mid-October was a bit misleading, and we had some chillier weather this past Saturday when we got together for a small family birthday celebration! I styled our dresses the best I could for cool temps, and we went with it – a jean jacket, some tights, and precious leather shoes for the mini, a Berlin jacket, hat, and some booties for Mama. We were comfy and warm and very cute for her birthday! I even ended up with a pretty well-coordinated mask to complete the look!
Thanks so much to Minerva and Super Bison for gifting me the goods to make another Mama Mini Matching Set come alive. Sewing is truly a super power, and being able to use it to make a closet-full of Mama Mini sets has become one of my favorite things to do!
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: Super Bison Patterns – Dune Dress
Fabric: Minerva – Lady McElroy (Viscose Challis) – Artisan Display in Gold
Tiny Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: Super Bison Patterns – Mini Dune Dress
Fabric: Minerva – Lady McElroy (Viscose Challis) – Artisan Display in Gold
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Schmetz Universal 70/30 Needles
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Thanks for reading my thoughts on these patterns! The Dune Dress and Mini Dune Dress patterns were both provided to me by Super Bison Patterns in exchange for my thoughts on the pattern. The fabric is absolutely lovely, and was gifted to me by Minerva in exchange for a blog post of a finished garment to be published on their website. All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
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