Sew Different Arya Pleat Dress

This is a flattering and quite quick and easy make. Thread and a zip are the only notions required although I also used bias binding. I made the dress in cotton lawn.
The pattern and instructions are attractively boxed with a well written instruction booklet containing also a glossary of stitches and techniques. There are extra templates to mark the pleats if you wish to avoid using the pattern for this.
The pieces look large to begin with but once the pleats are in they form a nice silhouette. It is important to check your waist fitting as the dress sits quite snuggly there. I cut a straight 14 and French seamed throughout as the seam allowance is for 1.5 cm.
The instructions said that depending on waist / bust proportions, a zip might not be necessary. For me it would have been possible but awkward to do without. In retrospect I would have inserted the side zip before sewing the other side seam so as to have been able to lay it out flat without fabric under or bunched away from it.
I bound the neck and armhole facings.
The shape of the dress, grown on sleeves with darted cuffs, slightly restricts upward arm movement but the sleeves do look very elegant.