Wednesday 13 May 2015

Style Arc Kristen Dress, Colour Blocked and Modified.

I had a long narrow strip of the lovely mosaic print scuba knit that I used for my Style Arc Fay Skirt left over in my stash. It was too good to throw away, but not big enough for an entire garment. This is what I came up with:


I used the Style Arc Kristen Dress pattern which I have made once before here. It's such a simple design...a blank canvas.


I redrew the front pattern piece, adding a 20cm wide strip down the centre and two side front pieces. I also substituted the crew neckline with the Cowl neckline from the Sewaholic Renfrew Top.


The fabrics I used with the scuba knit are a navy and an off white ponte. All fabrics were purchased from Spotlight last year. The zip was eliminated as it is completely unnecessary in a knit and I also left off the pockets.


I did add some long fisheye darts in the back after trying it on. The fit was a little too "sack like" without them.


I am quite happy with the fit now, still relaxed but with a little shape. I'm not sure if I like the cowl in off white. I am wondering if it would have looked better in the navy. Hopefully it will grow on me because I really don't feel like unpicking it, and I have just enough navy ponte left over to make a skirt, so I don't want to waste it cutting another cowl.


You can see the lovely print in the close up photo. I also top stitched the joining seams between the panels with a twin needle. All the hems were turned up 2.5 cms and topstitched with the twin needle as well.


This was a nice and easy dress to make and it's very comfortable to wear too.


Happy Sewing

12 comments:

  1. Love that scuba knit. I missed that one at Spotty! I quite like the cream cowl. Looks like a scarf.

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    1. Thanks Vicki, I love the scuba knit print too.

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  2. A perfect way to use up that lovely fabric. Gorgeous winter dress.

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    1. Thanks BeaJay. The big cowl/collar does make it nice and cosy, so it will be great for Winter.

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  3. Oh my this is very similar to what kept me awake in the wee hours of the morning a dress very similar :)

    I really like the combination of the print and plain and the white cowl does look like a scraf.

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    1. That's the great thing about being able to sew...being able to use an idea floating around in your head to create a wearable garment. I often go to bed dreaming of the next thing to sew. Thanks for your comment Sharon.

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  4. That is a lovely print, and such a great idea to combine it with the navy and white. This will be a real "go to" dress, I'm sure.

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    1. Thank you Sue. I'm glad you like the combination of fabrics. I was a little unsure after making it.

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  5. I totally like what you did with the front. Looks beautiful.

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  6. Beautiful dress, Jean! The back darts were a great detail to include - good job! :)

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    1. Thank you so much Sarah. The back darts certainly did improve the fit.

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