Pattern Review: The Assembly Line Box Pleat Dress

Please don't mind us as we slowly sew our way through every Assembly Line pattern on our shelves. After great success with The Puff Shirt, Hoodie Dress, the Wrap Jacket and Almost Long Trousers (unblogged) we’re kicking on with the Box Pleat Dress.

A note about these patterns. We sometimes hear from customers that they find the price of the Assembly Line patterns surprising. At $38 a pop (that’s everywhere, not just us by the way!), they are indeed pricier than the average of $30 for other indie patterns - so we understand the surprise. But frankly, we have trouble keeping up with the demand for these, despite the higher price point. We suspect that’s because these patterns are classic, simple shapes with some extra added interest. The kind of wearable things you can sew a few times to get your money’s worth. Plus they’re printed on nice sturdy thick paper. All this makes for a most satisfying sewing experience.

So! The Box Pleat Dress. It’s an a-line frock with a gently exaggerated sleeve and - hence the name - a nice big box pleat at the back.

Fit

I’ve seen a number of these made up and they often fit quite loosely all over, but I decided that I wanted mine to fit more snugly - at least across the shoulders. So I used the finished garment size to give me a good 5-6cm of ease in the bust and cut accordingly.

Fabric & Preparation

This version of the Box Pleat Dress is made from Robert Kaufman Essex blend (55% linen + 45% cotton) in ‘Espresso’. It’s a light to medium weight fabric that holds the a-line on this frock nicely, not to mention the shape of those sleeves. As the linen component of this fabric softens with wash & wear, I expect the drama to die down, somewhat. :)

Since Assembly Line patterns only give quantity suggestions for 140cm wide fabric I needed extra to accomodate for the 110cm wide Kaufman. So, for any of you wishing to sew the size M, here’s a PSA: this dress used 2.8m of an 110cm wide fabric (as opposed to the recommended 2.1m for 140cm wide).

sleeve-tastic!

Construction

As with other Assembly Line patterns, the drafting is reliable and the directions are clear. The Box Pleat dress has a slight high-low back hem which is separated by a split, all with lovely wide mitred corners which were very pleasing to sew.

pockets in action

For a fairly simple silhouette, there are a few things that lift this frock above your simple A-Line dress. There’s those sleeves for one. Then there’s the nice spacious side-seam pockets, and some lovely feature topstitching down centre front. For my money though the best take away trick I learned from this pattern was the triangular support stitching that lies under the box pleat. It really makes the pleat feel nice and, well, trustworthy. That's important since said pleat sits right at the middle upper-back where seams get subjected to lots of movement and stress.

creases courtesy of a days wear 

There’s a definite whiff of Gilead about this frock (I’d be careful not to make it in red!) Its exaggerated a-line and sleeves make it incredibly roomy - which is fine by me, but may not be for everyone! A relaxed washed linen would drape nicely and soften those lines if it’s too much for you. The Box Pleat Dress is super comfortable and layers well. A solid Spring frock, and it layers well too. I think I’ll be reaching for this quite a bit.

- Fiona xx

The Assembly Line Box Pleat Dress pattern can be found here.