Happy New Year everyone!  This was my last make of 2016, but it’s only made it to the blog today.

Long time readers already know how much I love a sack dress, but believe it or not, until now I hadn’t tried a cocoon sack.  After some online research (thanks for your reviews Lara, Jean & Meg) I purchased StyleArc’s Adeline Dress and I wasn’t disappointed.

On the StyleArc size chart my measurements cross three different sizes (oh the joy!), but for this make I ignored my waist and went with the size that correlated to my hips rather than my bust.  My calico toile showed that it was the right size for me.

Yes, a toile!  My sewing aim for 2017 is to slow down, to toile more and hopefully increase my ‘lives in my wardrobe’ statistics.  Only 78% of the garments I made myself last year still hang in my wardrobe.  I’m such a perfectionist that if anything is just a little bit ‘not right’ it gets re-homed.  Maybe I need to work on my perfectionism too?

If I’m wearing a sack dress, I usually try and keep the silhouette balanced by showing a bit of leg!  For this dress, I removed two inches (5cm) from the length… one inch from above the pockets, and one below.  Pockets?  No you didn’t miss anything, with limited fabric and a busy print, I left off the pockets.

The StyleArc patterns that I’ve sewn in the past always come together nicely. It’s a pattern company who are known for their great drafting, current styles and wide size range.  For this dress, I was a little confused by the notches on the side seams of the hem facings (they didn’t align) but I went with my gut feeling and it worked out fine.

I have two sewing tips for you today…

Tip 1:  I like to block fuse interfacing onto my fabric (where possible) before cutting out any pattern pieces that require extra strength.  After seams are sewn, I then spend time removing the interfacing from the seam allowances to reduce bulk.  It’s a bag making skill that I’ve transferred into my dress making.  You’ve got to love transferable skills!

Tip 2:  When I’m sewing a v-neck, I draw in the seam line with a water soluble marker to (hopefully) improve my accuracy.  In the photo above, I got a little carried away and pinned the neck facing in place before I remembered to overlock the outer edge of the facing.  Not to worry, it was an easy fix.

For this dress, I stitched the neck facing in place near the outer edge and I’m thrilled with how well it sits.  Also, the fact that there is no gaping in the back neckline makes me jump for joy!

The dress is made from a medium weight linen, which is probably pushing the recommended fabric weight boundaries.  The Adeline Dress is a great little pattern, so it’s probably no surprise that I’m already considering a ‘next time’.  When I use this pattern again, I will select a fabric (probably still linen) with a little more drape.

Pattern:  StyleArc’s Adeline Dress
Size:  8
Fabric:  Medium-weight linen from Joy’s Fabric Warehouse (which sadly closed down on 10 December 2016)
Alterations:  Removed 2″ (5cm) from the length of the dress.  Left off the pockets.
Accessories:  Chunky beads from Scarlet Jones and as-new second-hand Funkis shoes
Location:  Ballarat Showgrounds