Way back when I was at Sewjourn in May, I watched the Style Arc Laura dress pattern get a massive workout by Wendy, Rachel and especially Kathryn.  Kathryn used it to make dresses and tops, with all sorts of fantastic fabric patterns.  I was so inspired that as soon as I got home I pulled out my copy of the pattern and set to work with some remnants from other projects.  And I ended up with this!

This dress is one that I felt great in as soon as I put it on.  The floral yoke and sleeves were scraps that I snaffled from Wendy – and I think that she found the fabric at Reverse Art Truck. They are a jersey. It took quite a bit of skill to squeeze the pattern pieces out of what I had!

The front and the back are ponte remnants from other projects. I used different colours because I didn’t have enough to use just one!

Something that I’ve learned since making this dress and looking at the photos – I need to make it bigger through the back. The pattern is a size 12. I had already done a slash and spread with the back pattern piece, but I need to do more. I’ve put on weight since the first time that I made it. I also will remove some of the back waist length, which shouldn’t be too hard to do with a centre back seam.

I’m fairly pleased with the fit of the yoke and the sleeves. There are some folds just above the bust at the armhole, and I’ll consider doing a FBA on this pattern to hopefully eliminate that in the future. Adding a little more through the body will help the dress to skim over the bulges more.

So no, the fit isn’t perfect. But it’s not appalling either. And when I put this dress on, I feel good! Construction wise it was assembled on the overlocker. I finished the neckline with a band and topstitched with the twin needle. It’s very fast to make. I’ve decided that with some tweaks I can follow Kathryn’s lead and make this a tried and true pattern that can be used a million ways!