I'll end the suspense in my first sentence - no, not really- but close! That's what caught my eye when I stumbled on the Style Arc Marita Knit Dress - a bubble on the picture that said "sew it in less than an hr." I stumbled upon this pattern as I was glancing through the most recently posted pattern reviews on PatternReview.com. I was looking for a dress to make for an upcoming wedding. In particular, I wanted something stylish, but not too formal so I would be able to wear it again. I also didn't have a lot of time to invest in the project. The reviews for the Marita Dress were all "highly recommend," and most reiterated that the dress could be made in 1-2 hours. Immediately I went to the Style Arc website and found the dress. I had heard of this website before - but had never purchased from them. Style Arc specializes in bringing runway looks to the home sewer. The catch is that Style Arc is an Australian company, and shipping is a bit more expensive than shipping within the U.S. How is this a catch? Well, being as economically minded as I am - of course I want to get my money's worth from the additional shipping cost. I decided that the perfect balance of shipping and pattern cost was to buy three patterns, even though I found many I would like to buy!
Ok, back to the dress project. It was the week before the wedding, and I finally had a few open slots in my schedule to work on this dress. I cut it out one evening, and then over two mornings I worked on it. I was very excited to start this project because how can a dress that looks so unique take only an hour? I've got to see if this really works out! Usually fast projects are very simplistic and to be frank, not very attractive. But this dress is shapely and attractive!
The first morning I sat down to work on this project I read through the first sentence in the directions and I was already lost. Do you ever have those projects? Everyone said this would be easy - and here I am at the beginning already confused? This is going to be a long project! Or the other thought that comes to mind is - everyone said this was easy, I must be an idiot! Well, I finally figured out the first instruction and honestly, the rest came together easy. Even creating the twist in the dress, which I thought would be complicated, was much easier than I expected. Total time invested in this project was approx. 2-3 hours, including cutting out the fabric. If I make this dress again I can probably complete it in 1-2 hours total. Because this was my first time making this dress, fitting the dress did take some additional time. Thankfully, not much fitting was needed. I did add two darts to the back for a snugger fit (this is a pretty common alteration for me).
I'm happy with my dress and I'm so excited that I was able to finish it in time for the wedding. I'm looking forward to working on the two other patterns I bought from them as well. And check out their most recent pattern - Motorcycle jackets are all over the place - here is their version, the Ziggi jacket. I might have to buy this one too!
Here is the finished dress - sorry it's not a full length photo - but you can see a close up of the interesting cowl detail at the neck line.
Ok, back to the dress project. It was the week before the wedding, and I finally had a few open slots in my schedule to work on this dress. I cut it out one evening, and then over two mornings I worked on it. I was very excited to start this project because how can a dress that looks so unique take only an hour? I've got to see if this really works out! Usually fast projects are very simplistic and to be frank, not very attractive. But this dress is shapely and attractive!
The first morning I sat down to work on this project I read through the first sentence in the directions and I was already lost. Do you ever have those projects? Everyone said this would be easy - and here I am at the beginning already confused? This is going to be a long project! Or the other thought that comes to mind is - everyone said this was easy, I must be an idiot! Well, I finally figured out the first instruction and honestly, the rest came together easy. Even creating the twist in the dress, which I thought would be complicated, was much easier than I expected. Total time invested in this project was approx. 2-3 hours, including cutting out the fabric. If I make this dress again I can probably complete it in 1-2 hours total. Because this was my first time making this dress, fitting the dress did take some additional time. Thankfully, not much fitting was needed. I did add two darts to the back for a snugger fit (this is a pretty common alteration for me).
I'm happy with my dress and I'm so excited that I was able to finish it in time for the wedding. I'm looking forward to working on the two other patterns I bought from them as well. And check out their most recent pattern - Motorcycle jackets are all over the place - here is their version, the Ziggi jacket. I might have to buy this one too!
Here is the finished dress - sorry it's not a full length photo - but you can see a close up of the interesting cowl detail at the neck line.
Hi Can I ask a question about the dress (I have it cut ready to sew). Did you sew the dart up into the seam that extends to the shoulder line? I'm just not sure if it sits in that seam or below it somehow? TIA Susan ssmith_au@yahoo.com.au
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