I don’t fully know why I don’t use Lekala patterns more often.  I gave this dress – Lekala 4517 – a try as an experiment.

Actually, when I stop and think about it a little bit more, I don’t use them more often because I’m never completely confident about the ease that’s included in their patterns.  Like Hot Patterns, there aren’t many photos available of the finished garments on people.  I do love a line drawing to get an idea of seam placement and details, but they don’t always indicate ease very well.  With patterns from companies like Style Arc I know what their ease is and therefore what size I prefer.  Lekala patterns are produced to your own measurements – so although they’re almost always guaranteed to fit, they’re not always guaranteed to fit in a way that I find pleasing to my eye.

Lekala do have these little tags on each pattern nowadays, and this one does say ‘loose fitting’.  So let’s see how the finished dress is on me!

You know what? That’s pretty good! This really was sewn as a muslin. The fabric is teal drill (a remnant from Rathdowne Fabrics) and I used some Liberty scraps as a contrast at the neckline. I decided not to bother with the patch pockets on the front.

I inserted a standard zip into the centre back seam. An invisible zip would have been less obvious, because this tightly woven drill looks a bit puckery along the topstiched lines that attach the zip, but as this was a muslin I used what I had in stash.  It looks too wide from shoulder to shoulder at the upper back too.  Photos are so helpful for figuring these things out!

The Liberty is a pretty contrast, but the neckline overall is higher than I’d anticipated from the line drawings.

I also think that the bust darts are a little higher than I’d anticipated or than required.  Or maybe it’s just a consequence of my fifty year old boobs being lower than I’d anticipated!  However, overall this fits me pretty well.

So, overall verdict?  I think it’s worth giving this pattern another try, actually.  I suspect that the same size, in a much softer fabric such as a linen, rayon or a more loosely woven cotton, would work very well on me.  But as is often the case, I suspect that my eye will be attracted to one of the as yet unmade patterns in my stash before I pick this one up again.  And this muslin will be entering the wardrobe in the spare room.