Style Arc Olivia Dress

If you ever want a super simple, quick and easy summer dress pattern, the Style Arc Olivia dress may be the perfect one for you.

The Pattern

This is a pattern I actually got for free when I purchased other Style Arc patterns. If you aren’t familiar, Style Arc usually has a couple of choices for a specific free/bonus pattern of the month. You chose one when you’ve purchased a pattern (or patterns) from them.

As you can see from the picture above, the Olivia dress is rated Easy. Be sure to check their size chart at Style Arc if you are interested in purchasing their patterns. The sizing may be a bit different from what you are used to. Olivia is designed for woven fabrics and includes a belt pattern.

My Dress

For the dress I made, I used some fabric I purchased locally at G Street Fabrics. It’s part of the Robert Kaufman “Florence” collection and can be found here. This is basically a quilting cotton with a really pretty print. A print like this is the perfect thing to pair with a simply designed pattern. The “star” of the outfit becomes the print when there’s few details or design elements.

Back view of woman wearing Style Arc Olivia dress

This is a pattern that comes together quickly. The only change made to the pattern for this was to lengthen the bodice by about an inch. I find that often when I have dress patterns that include waistline elastic, it hits me in the rib cage which is uncomfortable for me. I might make one without this alteration just to see how it is.

One future change I will definitely make is to add pockets! Having a place to put your hands (or keys, or a tissue) is just really convenient. They are always missed when they aren’t there-I don’t know what to do with my hands.

The Style Arc Olivia dress features a scoop neck without any buttons or zippers. That’s another thing that makes this so quick and easy to make. You can just pull it over your head and that’s it!

If you’d like to see another easy spring/summer dress pattern, you can take a look at this post . This is a perfect time to start planning your wardrobe for the upcoming season. For me (and those of us in this hemisphere) that means summer.

If you’d like to check out the video review I did, here it is…

Style Arc Sally Jean Skirt

Here’s a garment I made last summer. It’s the Style Arc Sally Jean Skirt pattern and it is really nice! I’m always a fan of denim skirts in the summer because they are so comfortable, easy to wear and can go with so many different things.

The Pattern

The pattern is described as being slightly A-line, which it is. That’s one of the things I like about it. A-line skirts tend to be flattering on just about every body.

This is available in both PDF and paper formats. And as you can see, it’s rated “Medium” for skill level (intermediate).

How I Made It

I used some leftover white denim fabric I had from this jean jacket project. Having had quite a lot of experience sewing my own jeans, I knew that that’s the approach I would take with the construction of this skirt.

I really like the results I got. But getting there was challenging.

Style Arc Sally Jean Skirt Pros & Cons

There are no cons in terms of the style, sewability or wearability of the pattern. I think the pattern is great for the style and I will definitely be making more. It’s a classic that is just MY style!

My cons all have to do with the pattern instructions. They are more than a little lacking in instruction. There are patten parts that are labeled differently than what’s mentioned in the instructions. There are some terms that are different, but I chock that up to the pattern company being located in Australia (I think). Those things are figureoutable.

Front view of woman wearing Style Arc Sally jean skirt

I used a regular jean construction method for making the fly front because I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what they were saying -LOL!

I did not use a twin needle for making the two rows of stitching (as they say in the instructions). Personally, I don’t recommend it because denim can be thick and there will be several layers of fabric to go through. That’s an easy way to break a (twin) needle. I just sew two rows with a denim needle.

All that being said, the pattern is great and I will make this again, maybe this summer! Just be prepared to either use other instructions or have enough experience sewing so that you know what to do.

If you’d like to see the video review of the pattern, here it is.

Sewing Cargo Pants With New Look 6745

Sewing cargo pants with New Look 6745 is easy and I’m so glad I did it! Combining views A & B gave me the unique look I wanted. Here’s how the process went.

The Pattern

New Look 6745 is a unisex pants pattern that features two views with style options. There’s decorative webbing, gusseted pockets, elastic, buttons and twill tape for the drawstring.

The waistband is a separate piece that has three rows of stitching. the top and bottom rows are for elastic while the middle row is for the drawstring.

My Process

One of the first things I did was to use my croquis notebook to sketch the look I wanted to achieve. This is a good way to try out different looks you might be considering before you’ve started your project. For example, I was thinking of making the front patch pockets a solid color, but changed that with the actual pants.

Next, I made sure to make a muslin of the pattern which included some fit adjustments. Since this is a unisex pattern, I went with a Medium based on the measurements on the pattern envelope.

woman wearing muslin of New Look 6745 — *Muslin*

While it might seem like making the muslin will make the whole process take longer, that’s really not the case (at least for me). Once the muslin is done and I know the pants fit, I can be much more confident about cutting out my fabric and actually sewing the garment.

But just to be sure, I always do a fit check before the pants are completed.

woman wearing cargo pants with New Look 6745 — *Fit check*

Sewing Cargo Pants With New Look 6745

The fabric I used was purchased from Fabric Wholesale Direct. It’s a camo printed broadcloth that is a woven, lightweight fabric. It’s a terrific fabric that washes and dries well (meaning it doesn’t need ironing). Because it’s lightweight, the pants will be comfortable during spring and summer.

The pockets on the front are gusseted, so it does take a little bit more time than just sewing on regular patch pockets. Once that is done, it’s a quick process to stitch up the rest of the pants.