Wednesday, September 22, 2021

StyleArc Peggy Dress

I got one of those late-night emails about a big sale on StyleArc patterns on Amazon. Which means no shipping, since I have Amazon Prime. I flipped through the patterns on offer and decided to pop for the Peggy dress. 

I was sucked in by the envelope art. Don't they look ready for brunch in a nice restaurant, or shopping in the big city? Especially the polka dot lady. Is that a lap dog in her stroller?


Once the pattern arrived in the mail I started having second thoughts about that elastic waist. I'm a short brick and elastic waists often seem to emphasize my lack of shape. I decided I'd do a trial version with a hunk of what I think is cotton sateen that's been hanging out in my stash for nigh on 12 years. 

Then I checked a few reviews on PatternReview.com and started suspecting that the cute button band on the back was going to involve a lot of work and potential frustration. I figured I'd try to omit it on my (I hoped) wearable toile. I cut out the main pattern pieces and basted the seams and found I could wriggle in and out of the dress with no back opening - huzzah!

Changing the pattern meant that I had to re-jigger the construction, which meant my dumbed-down version probably took longer than the original would have done. It was OK though; it was an enjoyable mental jigsaw and it all worked out in the end.

The pattern was nicely drafted. It uses an all-in-one facing so the finish is much less floppy than separate neck and armscye facings are. And the facing pattern pieces were drafted just a smidge smaller than the bodice pieces so the innards just want to turn under and stay put. I used this Threads tutorial on how to do an all-in-one facing. 

There's also a kick pleat in the back there. I hadn't done one of those for ages but my good friend Google was very helpful and I'm pretty sure I got it done right.

There are two nice, roomy patch pockets that also form belt loops. I don't have a belt that matches this dress very well, but at least the black went with my shoes. 

Here's a shot without the belt. The pattern calls for 1.25 inch elastic, which gives the dress a bit of shape but doesn't give that floof-pinched-in-the-middle look that usually puts me off elastic waist dresses.

I tried the dress on without the elastic and it wasn't bad. In fact, in a fabric with less body it might be pretty nice, but I'm glad I decided to go for the elastic in the end. 

I would like to make another version with the button band, which is one of the details that drew my eye in the first place. Maybe in a nice linen? Hey! An excuse to hop over to Fabrics-Store and enjoy their fabric descriptions. I swear, they're more fun than reading wine tasting reviews. And their linen is very nice indeed.

This is the second Style Arc pattern I've done this month, and I've got another coming in the mail. Thorneberry did a review of their Fenix sweatshirt recently and I'm all in. Now I just have to find some nice sweatshirt fleece, which is easier said than done.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

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