Lekala Dress 4858

I was drawn to this pattern after seeing another sewer's make.  It also reminded me of  Paper Theory's Jadie Jumpsuit - taking rectangles and adding a tie around the waist to create something beautiful.  The final thing that drew me to this pattern was it appeared to be very easy and quick to sew - something I could do in between my other sewing commitments.

Lekala 4858

I had this fabric slated for another Jadie Jumpsuit but it was the only piece I had with enough fabric for this pattern.

How I Did It

My love affair with fabric is out of control again. The fabric used for this dress is one of my recent purchases. It is a "Vlisco Waxed African Cotton Print" ordered from Micheal Levine.  I am ordering fabric online mostly now since my local fabric store fabric quality has gone down considerably.

This was pretty simple to sew - I did not follow Lekala's order.  One sentence of the English instructions was actually in Russian.  Google translate to the rescue.

I sewed the upper front and back together at the shoulders and then the underarm/sides.

I added the pocket to the front and back of the skirt.

I sewed the front and back skirt along the sides.

I added a gathering stitch at the top of the skirt, gathered it, and sewed the upper half and lower half together.

I sewed the collar and cuffs in the round, folded them in half lengthwise, attached to the dress, and stitched in the ditch to keep the fold in place.  This is where the slow down started.  The cuffs were okay but the collar was not.

I had to remove the collar because it was too tall and rubbing against my chin.  I ended up removing about 3" from the length and really could have removed another 1/2" to an 1".  I reattached the collar (3rd time now) and decided it was okay (actually decided I would not remove/reattach it again).

The instructions didn't call for it but I added lite weight interfacing to the collar.

Hadn't Attached Collar and Sleeve Not Folded in Half

I hemmed the dress.  I used the blind hem and foot attachment to accomplish this.

I sewed the belt and again another slow down.  After trying on the dress with the belt I felt it was too wide on me.  I removed about 3 1/2" from the width.

Because the previous reviewer felt the belt was too flimsy I added hair canvas stabilizer to the belt portion and a lite weight stabilizer to the ties.  Hair canvas gave it the stiffness I needed.  The pattern did have you add a fusible stabilizer to both.

More pictures.

Front without Belt

Back without Belt

Conclusion

I think this dress looks amazing on the dress form but not so much on me.  I tried it on after a ridiculous amount of sewing time on something that should have taken about 2 to 4 hours.

I was frustrated and tired.  Hopefully I will like it better when I am well rested with makeup, heels, and jewelry.

What's Next

Still trying to make a pair of jeans.   I did make a test pair and it was a total failure but it was also my fault.  The next pair I make I will baste the pieces together before any top stitching to check the fit first.

My love affair with Lekala is ending.  I am finding  some of the pieces don't fit and sometimes the instructions are just wrong.  I am a slow sewer and nothing is more frustrating than having to take something apart to re-work or worse toss the whole project.

Lekala Jacket 4005 was the final straw.  I encountered 2 issues - some of the pattern pieces did not fit and the fabric (jacquard from my local fabric store) started piling after sewing only a couple of pieces together.  I tossed both the pattern and fabric.

I still have a couple patterns that I have not sewn and some patterns that were fine so will try the new ones and continue to use those that worked for me.