The Frequency Salme

As soon as I saw the Pleat Front Salme dress I fell in love. It seems like such a simple dress, but simple is what I wear. Simple with details. I love the pleats in the front. I love that they add interest and are an attention getting detail.

Pattern: Salme Sleeveless Pleat Front Dress
Size: 16
Fabric: 100% Polyester fabric from my stash
Alterations: 

• Shortened the bodice by 1 inch
• Added two extra pleats in the front to eliminate ease (5 Pleats per side)
• Sewed pleats at 1 inch instead of 1 1/8 inch because the pleats overlapped too much I wanted them to show more
• Cut 2 Inches off the length (I might cut more as it is still too long for my liking)
• Sewed the shoulder seams at 1 1/2 inch to help eliminate the gaping in the back neck
• Made a lining at 3/4 of the pattern pieces instead of using only a neck and arm facing. Pulled them through the shoulder seams and hand stitched the shoulder seams to encase the seams within the lining.

I bought it. Printed it. Fabric Choiced it. Cut it. Sewed it. Wore it.

Yeah, it is love. No time to waste. So none was.

Overall this pattern sewed really nicely. The most time consuming aspect was taping the paper pieces together. I truly dislike PDF patterns. I appreciate the immediacy they provide to my sew-lust, but I hate taping multiple A4 sheets together. I prefer when companies provide a copyshop version of the pattern so I can have it printed on one single sheet and cut it out myself. But hey, luckily this pattern only had 16 pieces! I taped it while watching an episode of Dexter. (Maybe that is why I found it hard to focus on matching the circles up- Dexter is so addicting!)

Next time I'll sew myself the Size 14 as the 16 had more ease than I typically like to wear. Even after taking in the side seams and shoulder seams the dress is still a littler looser in the bodice than I wanted but I couldn't make many adjustments without first having to take the entire dress apart. And since I'm not that much of a perfection I just let it be and am happy with the result!

The pleats came together quickly as the polyester fabric pressed easily. I actually liked making the pleats. The process of pressing all the pleats till my fabric stood up as a zigzag was fun. I was very precise with my pleating and had my ruler out to guarantee exact spacing of my pleats.

I tried my best to pattern match. I matched the pattern up the centre back bodice and skirt. The skirt I also did a good job of centering the design so we have a wave down the front and at both side seams. The bodice front was a little more difficult, I probably could of worked harder and centred the pattern down the centre of the pleats but I'm happy with the results!

I wore it that same night and received a "Your dress is beautiful where'd you get it?" followed by an astonished look when I informed them I had just sewed it myself! It makes me SO proud to say those words!

This pattern will be made again very soon! it is just so easy to make and wear. Elastic waist all the way! (My zipper skills aren't great yet)

So what do you think? Do you like the Salme pattern? How about my fabric choice? Let me know!