Patterns for Pirates Everyday Elegance Re-Release

It's the Summer of Wovens at Patterns for Pirates and they are kicking it off with the re-release of one of their first patterns, the Everyday Elegance! This pattern comes in both tunic and dress lengths, with short and long sleeves, plus a roll-up sleeve option. It can be finished with a traditional collar or a bias binding collar. As always, they've got some great hacks on their blog to give you even more options!

I'll be honest, this pattern has A LOT of ease, and I typically stay away from patterns with more ease. I'm quite thin, and I'm shockingly self-conscious about it, so I tend to wear things that are more fitted to show off the few curves I do have ;) But I truly do love this pattern. I wear my dress option with a belt, but I wear (and love) the top length without the belt. I still can't believe it.

A few months ago, I ordered this gorgeous Art Gallery Voile from Hawthorne Threads, and honestly planned to do something very similar to this dress with the fabric, but never got around to it. When the lovely ladies at P4P announced the testing call for the Everyday Elegance, I knew immediately what I was going to do! Like I said, I used voile for this dress, which, in full disclosure, is not one of the recommended fabrics in the pattern. It just doesn't have the drape that something like a rayon challis, polyester, chiffon, etc. will have. But I'm a rebel and had this dress in my head and made it anyway. Judy suggested it would probably be ok with a belt, and since I wanted a belt anyway, I went for it. It finished exactly as I envisioned it.

 

When I initially finished the dress, I thought the gathered sleeve might have been a bit too much, especially in this less drapey voile, but from a distance I actually like it. And below you have my epic fail of a close-up of the collar, that ended up turning into more of a headshot than anything else. Remotes are not my friend. My husband does a much better job of taking my photos than me and my remote do ;)

After I made this dress, I honestly didn't know that I'd have time for another. It's been a crazy summer already, and I thought I was done. Then they added the bias binding neckline instead of the traditional collar, and I just had to. Plus I found this gorgeous animal print (Is it cheetah? Leopard? I don't know, I'm terrible with that stuff!) in polyester at Jo-Ann Fabrics and knew it was perfect for this! I put it off for a few days, and then Judy posted the tank hank in the testing group, and I got right to it! I live in the South, but somehow my wardrobe is 99% fall and winter, and I have only a handful of tanks that aren't cami's. Seriously, how is that possible?! No idea. Anyway, now that I've gotten off-topic sharing my obvious love for all things winter, I'll share my new staple tank pattern for this summer, aka until November.

 

My husband does a much better job at capturing the detail shots than I do with my remote, amiright?

The inverted box please on the back of this pattern is probably my favorite design element in the entire pattern. I love that it adds some definition to a pattern with quite substantial ease. This tank is definitely a new go-to in my everyday wardrobe.

Now for the good stuff! With its re-release, the Everyday Elegance is on sale for $7.50 through Sunday 7/9 at midnight CST.