Peta Top and Dress Pattern Tester Roundup Part 2

Sleeves are still having their moment and it’s still got our attention. Choose from the absolutely gorgeous Pleated Petal Sleeve for a cute and whimsical feel. The cross over design along with the top pleats makes it the perfect point of difference and takes the vibe of the Peta to a sophisticated new level.

Mix it up with the equally stunning Pleated Gathered Cufflet sleeve – same sleeve head pleats but this time add some narrow elastic to the lower sleeve and you have a fabulous mock cufflet.

Or make the Pleated Long Sleeve – still with the same pleated head as the two shorter sleeves – but offers a full length sleeve with a cuff. This is a great option if you are wanting a garment with a bit more coverage or live in a cooler climate.

And without further ado my friends. Here are our roadies and their own story about their Peta Top and Dress.

 

Hello, this is Allison from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I have made Peta tops for myself and my teen daughter. Our fabrics, not intentionally, came from a de-stash sale.

Tips for Peta, measure yourself well, and sharpen your hand sewing needle. Don’t skip this top/dress because of the hand stitching, it is absolutely worth the effort. For this top neither of us needed any fit adjustments.

Megan’s Peta top has short, gathered sleeve. The fabric, to my best guess, is a rayon blend. The bright abstract design is most likely from the 1990’s which I have been told is back on trend. She has been pairing it with a denim skirt and usually a pair of black sneakers. For pictures she decided to pull out her wedges, well, actually MY wedges. She has just worn it for pictures so far.

My top is a camel colored silky fabric. I would guess a polyester. It has both shiny and matte design in the fabric in addition to the gigantic flowers. This top with its drape and simple shape were perfect for showcasing the fabric. When using a fabric with a large design, I tend to do some fussy layout to best facilitate the placement of the design. Paired mine with a coffee colored skirt and nude heels. I forgot how much I love the color combination until I put it on. Several people commented on how nice I looked.

I do have a soft floral piece draped on my sewing chair to make myself a summer dress version. If I can come with fabric Megan agrees to, I would definitely make her a dress version, too.

 

Hi! I am Barbara and I live in Northeastern Mississippi, USA.

For my first Peta, I used a navy rayon fabric from my stash. For my second Peta, I used an animal print cotton lawn purchased from LAFinchfabrics.com

The Peta pattern is a very easy sew. Take your time and enjoy!

I chose to make a Peta top with gathered sleeves, and also one with tulip sleeves.

Peta is such an easy-fit pattern that I did not have to make any alterations.

I have worn my Petas out and about and received many compliments. I can see a Peta dress in the near future! Follow me on IG:https://www.instagram.com/ninjabreadgirl61/

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Hi all, this is Brenda from The Netherlands.

I used woven viscose for all my Peta’s. I think I got them all at www.driessenstoffen.nl . The 2 I made initially both had short sleeves, petal and the gathered sleeve. Later I also added the long sleeve to my collection.

My tip for sewing a Peta is to baste the pleating before you construct further. Also I would suggest to use a stay stitch for neckline.

My only alteration for the Peta, except for my usual, was to raise the bust dart slightly .

As we speak I have another Peta with short sleeves half constructed. I wore one of my blouses to a bbq and quite some people said something nice about it.

My Instagram is: https://instagram.com/fabricfairybrenda in case you want to see more about my sewing.

 

Hi, I am Carmen and I live in the U.S.

For my first Peta, I chose to make the dress option with the petal sleeves. It was a gorgeous pale pink crepe. My daughter loved it so much, she decided she wanted it. I was happy to let her have it.

For my second, I made a dress for my mom for Mother’s Day. I used a gorgeous floral challis fabric that I’ve been holding onto. I knew she would love the petal sleeves and the scoop neckline.

For my third, I made another dress. Okay, yes, I am crazy about the Peta dress. You will be, too, after you make it. I chose a yellow floral fabric I purchased from Fabric Wholesale Direct. It was a bright and cheery color. Perfect for summer.

The tips I would offer: be sure to mark the pleats on the neckline and sleeves. Take your time hand slip stitching the neck bind but put on some music and relax. I know some people don’t like to hand sew, but I adored hand stitching the neck bind. It was surprisingly easy and I usually shy away from any hand sewing.

My fit alterations were blending between sizes and shortening the skirt for height.

I was fortunate to wear my Peta to my daughter’s school for student awards ceremony as the school year is ending. I had quite a few children tell me they liked the dress. I plan to make the dress again but I haven’t decided which sleeve to do. I really love the petal sleeves so I may do another. lol It really is a lovely pattern. If you want to see more of my makes, you can find me on https://www.instagram.com/carmen_in_the_end/

 

Hi, it’s me again. Christine M from the Netherlands. I was in desperate need of som solid shirts. My fabric stash is filled up with lovely prints, but this time I wanted solid. One of them had to be red, of course and a green one to go with my recently made hot pink pants. The red one has the petalsleeves and is a nice draping viscose. For the green one I used a satin kind of fabric. Very slippery, but lovely for this style. Both fabrics I bought at my local marketplace.

The most tricky part of this pattern is the neckband, especially if using slippery fabric. Most of the testers (like me) were complaining about the handstitching involved, but helpes you to go slow, and that’s exactly what you need to do if you want it to look good.

As usual in all designerstitch patterns I made size 4 and cupsize C, no alterations needed.

When I wore the red one last week, people loved it. especially the petalsleeves.

I want to make a blue one with long sleeves and maybe the dress for a printed fabric.

If you want to see more pictures of these lovely blouses take a look at https://www.instagram.com/stienmakes/?hl=nl

 

Hi all, I’m Genevieve and I live in the UK. I chose a cotton sateen that I’ve had in my stash for more than a while. I made a Petal sleeve Peta and it is really important to baste your pleats. I chose to make a petal sleeve top, as I am re-entering the workplace after many years and needed some clothes that are appropriate for the office. I’ll be wearing this top both in the office and casually styled with jeans. I am definitely planning more of these tops, as they are so flattering and on point.

 

Jose VW. Hi all, This Peta pattern is almost a basic pattern, it gives you lots of options! I made two versions! My yellow one was leftover fabric from my Genevieve dress, and I managed to get a Peta shirt out of this one! It’s a versatile piece that goes with a pair of skinny and boots, but just as easily goed with a pencil and heels!

The dress version with cuffed sleeves is my favorite, I love the long sleeves and managed to scrounge up some matching buttons out of my button box💕💕. The viscose is wearing like a dream, I know for sure I can wear this to work or diner easily!

I matched it with a narrow fabric belt from the same fabric.

I can see more options in my future too! I like the pleated front of this pattern the most. I don’t however like handsewing, so I might have stitched in the ditch on one of my Peta’s neckline, just don’t tell Ann 😇. I’m leaving it up to you to see which one is handsewn and which is not.😆

Want to see more? Check out my Instagram! You’ll find lot’s of DS makes for sure 😊

 

hello everyone! This is Huike from Singapore and I made 2 petas this time round ❤️

My first is going to be a summer staple in my wardrobe – i made it with a beautiful red floral kokka yui fabric from nekoneko.co and together with the petal sleeves, it just looks absolutely pretty 😍

My other peta is a puff sleeved dress that I like to pair with a metal belt chain and it’s so suitable for work – i love it!

Both of these are just lovely additions to my work wardrobe and i wanna make more peta tops really soon!

 

Hi all, my name is Marit and I am from the Netherlands! Let me tell you about my Peta top and dress.

I had a very cute light viscose/rayon fabric I used for toile. I made a 4B top to 5 hip with no adjustments. (And for fitted dresses I usually need a sway-back adjustment) I love to combine my peta with a fitted pencil skirt for the office, but they also work great with a jeans or joggers!

I used a bit firmer viscose/rayon for my Peta dress – which I love so much I need 5 more. I made a fabric belt but I feel like I need to go and do some shopping and buy small belts 😉

You can find me on instagram: www.instagram.com/modemamaprins Happy sewing!

 

Hi I am Meiling S from Perth, Western Australia.

I made two of the long sleeve versions of the Petra using a deluxe satin and a rayon from Spotlight.com.au

I would suggest taking your time with the slip stitching on the neck bind and ensure its all pinned in place especially with slippery material!

I didnt need to make any alterations. Just the gathers needed to be deeper to line up with neck and sleeve.

I havent worn mine out apart from around the park whilst taking pictures 🙂

I do have plans to make some more in the short petal sleeves.

You can follow me on facebook at www.facebook.com/Sewaholiccreations or instagram – www.instagram.com/Sewaholiccreations

 

Hi there! I’m Pauline from Singapore. I am absolutely in love with the new Peta Pattern. I made mine in Rayon that I bought from Sing Mui Heng – AGF and I think it’s perfect for our hot tropical weather.

I chose the petal sleeves dress combo and this is the shortest dress length option and I shortened my dress by 1” as I am only 5’ 4” and this is a size 2 C-cup.

I think my Peta dress is great to be worn with the thin belt I sewed up in the same fabric or without and is such a pretty dress that I know I be wearing a lot of! I know my next Peta will be a top so I can wear with my denim skirt or jeans!

Don’t forget to check this pattern out while the release price is on!

Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pmlah/

 

Hi all, I’m Shardee from the netherlands .

My petra top is a little bit different than all the other version’s, because ann let me hacked it into a maternity top.

I used 2 of my precious voile panels.

It was a birthday gift 🎁

The petra is a easy sew with a ‘difficult ‘ look.

I combined it with a skirt, because it looks very chique

If you want to see more of my sewing work

www.instagram.com/sewing_shar

 

Hi Everyone, my name is Sharon. I am from Singapore 🇸🇬.

I used viscose from Atelier Brunette for my Peta with petal sleeves in the shortest length.

I spent a little more times making this piece because of the hand stitching for the neck binding. Make sure you keep the width of neck binding to 1cm finished so that it sits nicely when worn. And mark and be precise when basting or sewing all the pleats.

I love the gathered short sleeves too, so that is on my to sew list. And because my mum loves my first piece so much that she has placed an order. 😊

Follow me at www.instagram.com/sharont.sews/ for my sewing journey

 

My name is Stacey and I live on the South coast of England.

I used a lyocell fabric that I got from myfabrics.com.

Because of the slippery nature of floaty fabrics it helps if you use a lot of pins.

I sewed the shortest length dress with petal sleeves, because I thought it would make a great day time to evening outfit.

Because cup sizes are included in the pattern I didn’t need to make any of my own alterations.

My family loved my Peta dress, next I plan to make a top version to wear with a skirt for work.

 

It is always a treat to test for Ann Grose. Hi, my name is Synthia and I live in Central Ca. I really enjoyed sewing my 3 Petas, 2 tops and 1 dress. I used a rayon challis for my flowered top, a soft linen with cotton lace for my 2nd top, and a chiffon with silver foil for my Peta dress. I love this design because it is an easy sew and very comfortable to wear. Peta can be dressed up or down. As always, sewing a muslin first to obtain a proper fit is a must, use an iron, and ask question if help is needed. Great design Ann. https://sewsynsewn.blogspot.com/2022/ https://www.facebook.com/Synthia20000/

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Hello everyone I’m Tina from Southern California! I used this beautiful floral crepe woven for my Peta dress. I’m so lucky to live about an hour away from our local LA fabric district. A few times a year I love to stop by and stock up on fabric!! The petal sleeves are what makes the dress stand out for me and so easy to sew. Only thing I had to adjust was remove 1.5″ from the longest length for my height. Don’t let the hand sewing for the neckline intimidate you. Take your time and the results will be worth it. My mother loves my dress so much that I gave it to her and I will be making more for myself. Might even do a long sleeved version just to change it up.

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Hi i am Annet L and i live in the Netherlands. Love the peta top and dress so much. For my top i used a crinkle cotton and for my dress a popelin. The peta is a verry easy pattern to make and i will make many more! I made an size 2 and i love the fit. If you want to see more of my work. Follow me on Instagram. www.instagram.com/josewbo_creaties_