I ordered this pattern from Style Arc earlier this month because I thought it might work well for some of the knits that I have in my stash for the dreaded up coming winter. I'll be so jealous of the northern hemisphere in about a month. I wanted to test the pattern first before I cut into some of my pricey and adored merino wool knits, and Sydney has been really turning on the charm big time with the weather lately. It has still been nice and warm, the kids have been using the pool pretty much everyday and it made sense to make a quick summer frock up to test the pattern.
I used a combo of two knits that I have had in my stash for sometime, that I was a bit unsure about, so I knew I wouldn't shed a tear if the pattern didn't sew up to suit me. I really like the results.
Excuse the dodgy picture. I get my husband to take photos of me, it is always at the end of the day when the kids have been put to bed and I am really past it, and he spends the whole time laughing at me and telling me I look ridiculous and am pulling an awkward face. He is right most of the time, but he makes me feel even more self conscious, so he is getting the sack from taking photos, and just a warning to any of my girlfriends - don't be suprised if next time you are over, I have a quick costume change and get you to take some pictures. Anyway, I've cropped my face out because I was pulling some pretty bad faces.
I was really happy with how the pattern turned out. The pattern is long sleeved, but don't be turned off if you are heading into some warm weather - sleeves are easy to chop and change between patterns. especially when you are talking about knits. I added a little flutter sleeve to this particular dress and other than that, the only pattern chances I made were to shorten the hemline a little and to run the centre back seam around the lower back and waist to suit me better.
This is the centre back seam, you can see that my pattern doesn't line up, but I don't really care. I absolutely love it that this pattern has a centre back seam - so many patterns for knits don't simply because you generally don't need a zipper or anything, but having the back seam really allows yout o fit the dress well. I pretty much always need tot ake things in at the back, and if you don't have a centre back seam it is a more fiddly process. You have to do it via the side seams and make sure that you take in equal amounts on either side so the dress doesn't sit twisted on you, and you have to be really careful to make sure the fabric doesn't end up grabbing around the hips. Centre back seams are so much easier.
Oh, the other thing I did differently from the pattern was to cut out a lining for the yoke and self line it. This is by far the easiest way to finish a necline with a knit and the yoke is tiny, so it didn't take much fabric.
Style arc patterns - for those who have never ordered them before, are not multi sized. You will get a tracing of your particular size on good quality pattern paper. I am sure if you have a multi sized body, that you can contact the style arc team and see what they can do to accomodate you. It takes me around a week or so to get the pattern because it looks like they prepare them all individually once they get the orders. If you do not live in Australia, you will probably need to add a week or two in shipping time, but it will be well worth the wait. Oh and they always have a free pattern for the month. I really liked this months pattern and will blog about it next week (more dodgy pictures, we photographed them on the same night).
If you'd like to read my review on sewing.patternreview.com, please click here.
I am really happy with this dress, I give the pattern 10 out of 10. It literally took longer to cut than sew and I love the result. Whilst I really wish the earth would stop rotating around the sun right about now, so we could have this glorious weather all the time, I am going to have to get my act together and cut it out in long sleeves with a warmer fabric. There is a definite chill in the air tonight, and daylight savings officially ends next week, so it is going to come to a tragic end very soon. Thank goodness for cute long sleeve patterns to get me though! Hope everyone had a lovely easter.
Marnie
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