The Staple Dress

I have been wanting to try April Rhodes' Staple Dress pattern since it first came out, but the only clothes that I have sewn have been for my daughter so I was a little intimidated.  I was also nervous about this pattern because I am quite tall (5'10"), my chest is on the larger side, and I am not as thin as I once was.

I used a voile print from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush line.  It was a little slippery to work with, but it makes a nice light dress.  Though it does wrinkle quite a bit and is a little sheer.

Issues I had while making the pattern:

• I bought the PDF version of the pattern which takes FOREVER to assemble.  
• The neck facing and armhole facing are both made up of 3 paper pieces and I accidentally switched 2 of the pieces which made my neck facing too short and my armhole facing too long.  I was really confused until I figured out what I had done wrong.

The only change I made was to add 6 inches to the length.  I am tall and I like to wear dresses and skirts that are what I like to call "librarian length" which means just below the knee.  I thought that 6 inches would be too much and I would just hem the dress to the desired length when I was done, but it was just right.

The verdict: I like the dress with a sweater (I almost always wear cardigans with dresses anyway).  The pattern was pretty easy and very well written.

I like it a lot less without the cardigan, but it turned out better than I had expected.  

I think it is a little boxy in the shoulders for me and it gapes a little in the back.  I did 2 lines of shirring and did not change the placement of the shirring, but I might lower it a little if I make it again.  

If you are wondering about sizing, I fell in between the L and XL on the measurement chart and made the L.  The sizing is definitely a little big.