Sewing For My Sanity

Simplicity 9041, what went wrong here? Mistakes were made.

sewing Simplicity 9041

Hello Simplicity 9041, you made my head hurt. It happens to all of us. When you sew something like Simplicity 9041 and it just well…keep reading so, I can explain.

I love simple patterns. Let’s face it, most of our wardrobe is straightforward, and the other items are fancy. Therefore, I try to collect some simple sewing patterns mixed with challenging patterns. Simplicity 9041 is a pseudo-wrap dress. The sewing pattern only has a few views. In other words, this should have been a slam dunk sewing experience. Nope. That is to say, I don’t know why it didn’t come together right, but here’s my sewing review of this pattern.

Pattern Simplicity 9041 dress with Minerva fabric
S9041- Simplicity 9041 uncut

I’m pushing forward to summer and spring with Simplicity pattern 9041.  It’s a straightforward sundress or it least it should have been that way.  Follow along to see how the sun turned to darkness.

Pattern Features of Simplicity 9041

This faux wrap dress pattern has three views, A-C.  There are three sleeve lengths to choose from short-sleeved, full sleeve, and a wider, shorter sleeve.  Additionally, there are three length variations, so you could get quite a few looks from this pattern. Want to do this permutation problem? That’s six unique dresses you could get from one pattern. (Nerd moment)
There are no zippers, buttons, pulls, or closures for Simplicity 9041.  Also, it features a waist tie as an accessory to any view.  But of course, you can leave it out or add it to any view.


Sewing Techniques needed for Simplicity 9041

  • Pressing
  • Insertion of facing
  • Insertion of elastic
  • Understitchiing

Fabric Choice

Sulphur Minerva Fabric

Certainly, fabric choices are most important. Yes, I said it. Don’t choose the wrong fabric; it could wreck your entire sewing life. So, I chose this beautiful fabric from Minerva Fabrics. It’s a gorgeous sulfur non-brassy toned woven fabric with minimal sheen. It’s perfect for summer and not sheer, so no lining would be necessary.

Sewing challenges

So, this pattern only has a handful of views. I chose to do the shorter version with the shorter flutter sleeves. The tie was a must for me, given the elasticized waist.

Simplicity 9041 in Minerva Fabric

Let’s start with the bodice for Simplicity 9041. The faux-wrap situation criss-cross life is a mess. You are to match the bodice with the skirt and then add the elastic. I don’t think the pattern pieces match up very well, and I found myself making several micro-adjustments.

If you need to adjust the bodice or the skirt, make sure to recheck your measurements. Even after several attempts to sure up the sides, it still didn’t come together as I wanted.

Simplicity 9041, maybe I need to rethink this pattern

In short, it was too large to be decent or to wear without a tank top or something underneath. In the end, I sewed up the bottom of the bodice to keep the fabric from moving and flailing all over the place and exposing myself to every whiff of wind.

Moving on, the collar/facing. What is happening here? It just would not come together, and then because of my fabric choice, the facing on the collar bleeds through. I tried black and white facing. Yup, I admit it; the struggle is real.

I probably won’t ever make this pattern ever again, but it was cute to prance around in that day…