Matching with Mars feat. Style Arc Lacey
Sharing a spot of news today—this year I’ve partnered up with Style Arc as an ambassador! Read on for more details about why I’m working with Style Arc, my first Style Arc project, and a sweet deal on the Kids Lacey Dress!
This post is my honest opinion using patterns I received free of charge from Style Arc.
Style Arc is a pattern company based in Australia that, until this project, I hadn’t yet sewn with. While I’d say I’m a skilled sewist and well versed in indie sewing patterns, Style Arc’s instruction style is new to me, so I’m really excited to work with these patterns and share my experience here on the blog. If you’re familiar with Style Arc, you’ve probably heard that the sewing instructions can be sparse. I’m looking forward to sharing my makes with you as well as tips for sewing their patterns so that the condensed instructions don’t discourage folks from taking advantage of some really great pattern designs. I’ve gotta give them credit, Style Arc has some designs that I truly haven’t seen elsewhere among indie designers, and certainly not with the extensive size range that Style Arc has, especially when looking at “Big 4” patterns.
One final thought on sewing instructions before I move on to our dresses—I think its important to point out that often our displeasure stems from unfulfilled expectations, and I definitely see this in the sewing experience. If an individual is fairly new to sewing, is unfamiliar with a brand’s style, etc., then I can see how paired down instructions would be frustrating. It wasn’t what that person expected. So two things I’d like to say as I share Style Arc patterns going forward: 1) when buying a pattern we’re paying for more than just written instructions (namely, the design and drafting), and 2) I’m sharing these patterns as projects that I enjoy and feel comfortable with based on my personal sewing level. Not every pattern company is ideal for teaching sewing basics to brand new beginners, and that’s ok! I’m always happy to share resources with folks just getting started, and I’m excited to explore Style Arc’s offerings and share what I learn in the sewing process here as well.
Alrighty! Let’s get down to business, shall we?
For my first Style Arc project, I decided to go with Lacey, a simple relaxed dress. You know, something to dip my toe in and get a feel for it. I’m a big fan of easy to wear dresses with a gathered skirt and grown-on sleeves—they’re comfortable to wear and pretty easy to sew; not much harder than a t-shirt. Lacey is great too because it can be made in knits and wovens.
At A Glance
Pattern: Lacey Dress (adult sizes)
Size I made: 18 (and measured at an 18)
Adjustments: none
Fabric used: Spoonflower Modern Jersey feat. “Disty floral charcoal in cream” by erin__kendal
Max chest measurement: 67 3/4” (172cm)
This is a really relaxed fit on me and I’m sure its going to be so cool and comfortable in the warmer months. Since knits and wovens behave differently when it comes to wearing ease, in the future I’d probably stick with an 18 in wovens and go down a size for knit versions. The ease in this floral knit one is just a touch too generous for my preference. But again, perhaps when the Virginia summer humidity comes around I’ll be extra glad to have such a breezy fit!
I also chose the Lacey dress because there was a mini version too! As always I’ll take any chance to match outfits with miss Mars here. The kids Lacey has the same great relaxed fit and gathered skirt, and I absolutely love the sample dresses in the listing photos—they really show off the bodice design and the option for color blocking and scrap busting. The only difference I noted between the two is that the kid’s version comes with a neckband piece for the knit dress, whereas the adult version only has the facing. If you prefer a neckband for the adult version, here’s a tutorial for calculating a custom neckband. For mine, I decided to skip the facing, fold the neckline edge over twice, and finish with my coverstitch. This could also be finished with a zig zag stitch or a double needle on a regular sewing machine.
The Lacey dress is an awesome intro to Style Arc pattern. Its pretty straightforward to make, so even if you find yourself adjusting to the austere instructions, if you’ve sewn a knit t-shirt before, the assembly will be familiar. The relaxed fit is also really forgiving, meaning there’s more room to adjust things as you go (taking in the bodice sides or raising the gathered skirt seam, for example).
As always, thank you for being here and giving this a read, and before I go I did want to mention that for the month of March, you can get the Kids Lacey dress pattern for free when you purchase any other pattern. Just add both patterns to your cart, go to cart, and click the coupon!
