Lekala 5144
When the weather warmed up a few weeks back I was inspired to sew a summer dress. Does that happen to most of us? I feel that I really have put my cold weather sewing behind me for the year now, even though the weather is still very up and down.
The pattern is Lekala 5144, a raglan sleeved knit dress with gentle shaping and a separate faced neckband. Super simple.
Lekala patterns are pdf patterns that are customised to your measurements. In addition to height, bust, underbust, waist and hip measurements, you can tweak your order further by specifying things like shoulders wider or narrower than normal, biceps larger than normal, bust higher or lower than normal, waist higher or lower than normal, and so on. Of course, the issue here is knowing what “normal” is. I’ve been experimenting a bit with this feature on Lekala. My starting point was with the alterations I normally need to make with patterns. I know that as well as being short (this is taken into account with the height measurement) I am proportionately short-waisted. So I chose that option. I think that I might have narrow shoulders too. And depending on what bra I intend to wear with the garment, I might order the pattern with a lowered bustline. But this time I told Lekala I had a broader back than “normal”. Big mistake.
See that fold? That is how much fabric I had to remove from the top of the centre back seam. I often remove fabric from that area anyway, as I have a rounded upper back (sometimes known as a “dowager’s hump”. Ew). Luckily it wasn’t hard to do – I unpicked the topstitching from the back neckband, folded it out, and resewed the seam. Problem fixed.
Otherwise, the construction of this dress was very fast and highly satisfying. Seams were overlocked, and topstiching of the band and the hems done on the machine with a twin needle. I used different colours in each needle, mainly because I could.
I’m looking forward to wearing this dress. The fabric is a light weight double knit (like a ponte) from Super Cheap Fabrics in Brunswick. I love the retro style of the print and the colours. There were another couple of colourways – I’m tempted to get some more, but there is already so much in my stash that is begging me to be sewn.
If you are interested in making this pattern there is a tutorial on sewing the neckband here.
This looks great Lara – fabulous colours and drape and I think you will get a lot of wear from this dress.
Love the colors! It looks like a dress that maybe with a cardi and some tights you could wear in the fall season as well. Great job, as always!
Hi Lara, I just love your blog. Like you I love bright colours and prints and look forward to seeing all your beautiful creations. I am also a fan of stylearc patterns and some of your garments have swayed me over the line into buying a pattern I might have been umming and ahhing over. I also love the honest posting of garments you didn’t feel quite worked out. This dress looks lovely on you and is nice way to usher in warmer weather.
Great dress Lara, lovely fabric and shape.
Great summer dress. Love that fabric.
Looks lovely! I learn a lot from you about dressing to suit your body shape! The only thing is now I have found the perfect style for me I am finding it hard to stop making the same dresses! Thanks for keeping me right!
This is a fabulous summer dress and the open neck line will be so cool.
Oh I really love this dress on you Lara. The style and the fabric suit you very well.
I love the print & the style. A perfect summer dress.
That is a very cute dress. And will be perfect for those really hot days.
Looks so summery in the dramatic print, how do you find them?
I really like the shape of this dress. Even though it is a loose fit, it does give the illusion of shape. Great fit.
By the way, a dowagers hump sounds terrible. I have heard of it referred to as an ‘I’ hump because so many teens and young people now have it from bad posture when using electronic devices.