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Sewing is therapy for me. I hoard fabric, patterns, notions, and spend more time shopping for fabric than I care to admit...

Monday, February 16, 2015

A Laura Knit Dress from StyleArc

I found out, late, but I did find out, that Etsy has StyleArc patterns for download!  Where have I been?  Once I found out, I of course went shopping and printed three off and put together immediately.  This is the second of the batch and I couldn't be more pleased!


Here is the description from the StyleArc site: A simple pull on knit dress pattern. Must be made in a stretch knit fabric.

It's no secret I love sewing with knits and making tunics or dresses.  To me, it feels like you are wearing ultra comfortable pajamas all day but you look cute (that's the goal anyway) and stylish (another goal).



Here is my review of the Laura dress.  Isn't it just ripe for color blocking?  Duh, I know it was designed that way but s-t-i-l-l!  The lines are fabulous and that is what drew me to the pattern in the first place.  This is an instant gratification project.  Start to finish-cutting out to final pressing was about 2 hours. That's it and I am not fast!


The gray was from my stash and a lovely to work with ponte from Emma One Sock.  I so love this fabric!  It behaved beautifully, washed amazingly, held its shape and feels so wonderful on your skin! The stripe is from another project and I had just enough left over to create the color blocking portion.


There aren't many directions but what is there is adequate.  I will note however that I was confused on the back center seam and since it wasn't obvious from the line drawing there was a seam, I didn't cut one but, it turned out to be just fine!  I cut and sewed a straight size 12 with a slight FBA which seemed to work out just fine!


I didn't have enough of the stripe to create the full sleeves but saw a RTW dress that had a similar treatment and decided to go for it.  It worked!


I had about 1.75 yards of the ponte and it was just enough for the body of the dress and the upper sleeves.
I used clear 1/4" elastic to stabilize the shoulders and a double needle treatment on the hem.  I topstitched the edges of the yokes as well as the sleeve treatments.


Easy-peasy and I love the fit.  There is just enough waistline definition so you know it doesn't look sack like--another bonus!


This is a fun and fast pattern and I can see it as a top, tunic, and of course dress.  I'll be making it again!

Thanks for reading!
Sue

10 comments:

  1. Love your dress and it fits you beautifully!

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  2. Looks great on you. Love the stripes. They look so cool on the sleeves.

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  3. I love the stripes. Great dress. I think you've achieved all three--stylish, cute and comfortable.

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  4. Great looking dress, Sue. I love the way you have used the contrasting stripes. How does the Style Arc Laura Knit Dress compare to the Tilly and the Buttons Coco? Which would you prefer and why?

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    1. Hi Jean! Interesting question....I love both patterns for different reasons! The Laura is already constructed for the contrasting and the Tilly would need that done. So that is a bonus for me! The StyleArc seems to be able to take a heavier fabric and handle it well while the Tilly can lend itself to a lighter weight one. I do like the length of the Laura while the Tilly is fairly short! If you're tall, you'll need to check it! So, for different reasons, I like each about equally! Haha! How is that for a non-committal answer!

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    2. Thanks Sue. You have convinced me to try this pattern and I have just ordered it along with some ponte from Style Arc, as well.

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