Style Arc Armidale - Succulents and Citrus

It's Style Arc Armidale revisited today!

In light of some epic fabric from Minerva I had to pull out one of my favourite patterns.  

This absolutely beautiful fabric is called ‘Succulent Citrus’ from the Minerva Exclusive range of viscose challis.

A natural fiber with a nature print makes this a super breathable, super fun, make for summer!

The print features so many adorable succulent designs which just burst with colour and joy to me. Every time I look another fruit pops up. 

 I don’t usually wear or use white fabrics however the print on this sufficiently covers it so I’m not sure it counts as ‘white’ really. The fabric is opaque which is wonderful and doesn’t need any kind of lining.

For this print only the Style Arc Armidale Dress would do. A fit and flare beauty of a dress with a subtle little collar and a jazzy button opportunity. 

 

I really like the bodice of this pattern as there are no darts, just gathers under the bust and in the back which creates a really elegant shape.

My previous Armidale dresses were a 14 and seemed to fit beautifully until I was too big to get in them. My latest versions, including this one, are a straight 16 and for some reason don’t seem to lay quite as nicely.

That being said, from taking these pictures I think I need to make a forward shoulder adjustment to stop the collar pulling back, reduce the shoulder length and perhaps take the side seam from a 14 to a 16 at the waist. I have since adjusted my pattern pieces, so we’ll see what the 3^rd version brings! (I absolutely will make a 3^rd version at some point). 

With all Style Arc patterns, the instructions are sparse and assume prior knowledge, however the construction is very straightforward. A great introduction shirt-dress if you haven’t done a collar before, as this one just sits flat on the neck, trapped between the bodice and a facing. No stand to contend with.

Word of warning – this pattern uses a lot of fabric, especially if you have a directional print!

I was kindly given 3m of this viscose and I only JUST managed to get all the pieces out of it. The long front facing had to be patched together rather than being one continuous piece as I just couldn’t fit the entire thing on aswell as a whopping 6 flared skirt pieces. I also had to reduce the ‘flare’ by a couple of cm to fit onto the width. 

If you’re a smaller size I’m sure it would be fine, but this 16 definitely took every bit of that 3m.

I figured this dress needed some citrus zesty buttons. I did hover over some actual lemon slice buttons but they were a bit pricey so opted for these. I think they zing.

Lemon slice earrings were definitely the right combo though!

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