Dipping My Toes in the StyleArc Pool

So, I've spent a lot of time recently observing the fabulous garments being made by others in the internet sewing world using patterns from the Australian company StyleArc.  After reading so many comments and blog posts touting the superior fit and style of these patterns, I decided I must give them a try.  First up on the block was the Adele Top, a basic-looking knit top with an asymmetrical hemline and side slit.  Per the sizing guide on the StyleArc website, I ordered a size 18, based on my bust measurement.  After some flat pattern measuring and comparison to another TNT knit top pattern, I decided not to do any alteration to the bodice front or back so that I could test the general fit and draft of the pattern as designed.  This comparison clearly showed, however, that the sleeve was much too narrow for my hefty arms.  I traced the pattern and did a simple slash and spread alteration to the sleeve to achieve the width through the bicep area that I needed.  A side result of this alteration was that it significantly flattened the sleeve cap, so I added back some height to the cap, double checked the armscye measurement and decided it didn't change the length of the armscye to a degree which couldn't still be easily eased in, especially considering I would be using a knit for this garment.  Here is the sleeve pattern with my alterations.  (It's not really purty, but it gets the job done.)

For my test garment, I selected a black and camel poly ITY knit from Fabric.com that I wasn't so in love with that it would bother me if it turned into a wadder.  I was very pleased with the result.  The fit through the body of the top was near perfect, the shoulders were a good width (I often have to narrow the shoulder line of tops), it didn't look like I needed to do a FBA, and my sleeve alteration seemed to have worked well.  The only issue I had was one that a number of others who have made this pattern observed as well--the top is a little too long.  I thought it would be more flattering if shortened a bit (and this is from someone who loves herself a good tunic top!), so for the second iteration, I folded out about 2-1/4 inches in length between the top of the side slit and the bottom of the armscye.  Here's the test garment:

Oh, just remembered that I also nixed the neckline method set out in the instructions and opted for my standard bound neckline.

Now happy with the fit of the pattern, I selected a lovely rayon/lycra knit I recently acquired from EmmaOneSock for the real deal:

I love it!  I wore this top to work a couple days ago and it completely passed the wearability test.  I may have to try another one with short sleeves for summer.

Today starts the Memorial Day holiday weekend, so I have three days in which I hope to get a lot of sewing done.  Summer supposedly is coming soon (although we have been having a lot of rain, and even snow, during the last week or more) and I always have a difficult time figuring out what to wear during the warmer months.  I just am not a summer person when it comes to clothes.  Give me wool weather any day!  As a result, my summer wardrobe is severely lacking and I need to crank out a few lighter weight basics to get me started.  Hopefully included in there will be a try at another StyleArc pattern.  Most likely the Peta Pants.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Holy Mackerel!  It's amazing how quickly over two months can whiz by in life.  I no sooner started this blog than I have gotten way behind, although the lack of posting is indicative of the lack of personal sewing going on in my life for awhile.  The mojo apparently took a holiday in some tropical locale without letting me know it was leaving.  Things have been very hectic at work for the last several months and, although it didn't really translate into a lot of extra hours at work (well, some days were long!), it meant that most days when I got home in the evening the creative juices had pretty much been sucked dry.  Not much more in me than to plant myself on the couch with the remote.  I also had a special sewing project going on for a gallery show which was up in April--I'll try to talk more about that in another post.  But special projects also can kill the mojo for me because I feel too guilty doing any personal sewing when I know I should be working on "the project."

Finally, however, things seem to be slowing down and my time is my own again.  I can feel the desire to sew coming back to life.  I eased into the process with a relatively quick project--making several pairs of cotton flannel pajama-type pants (or "comfies" as we call them around our house) for myself and My Guy to wear when lounging about the house.  I made us three pair each, which should pretty well re-stock the supply for a good long while.  From the right--bright colored lizards, funky green print and African masks for me, and African masks, cartoon monsters, and black/white skulls on red for MG.  Not terrifically thrilling, but it's something!

Next, I think I will take a stab at several of the StyleArc patterns which I have been accumulating.  I've made a test sample of the Adele Top and am ready to try another version, plus a couple other SA patterns--stay tuned!

Shams' Tablecloth Skirt

A while back, Shams of Communing With Fabric  took up the gauntlet on a challenge to determine the pattern draft for an unusual dress from a picture found on the internet.  She not only figured out the pattern draft, but generously provided her readers with a tutorial for making a skirt (tutorial found HERE).  She dubbed the skirt the "Tablecloth Skirt."  Numerous sewists have since made and shared their versions of this awesome skirt, all of which have been truly lovely renditions.  Shams has created a gallery of those skirts she is aware of having been made (gallery HERE).  I just had to jump on the bandwagon, although it took me awhile to find the fabric that really spoke to me as wanting to be the Tablecloth Skirt.  Finally, I located this linen plaid in black, white and gray on FabricMart and knew it would be perfect.  Luckily, I ordered more than a few yards of the fabric, because I decided to cut the bottom rectangles on the bias, which (of course) ate up a lot of yardage.  But I am very happy with the outcome.

If you haven't tried this skirt, you should.  It's quite fun to put together and I know it will be fun to wear as well!  Thank you Shams for doing the work and so generously sharing it with us all!

A Trio of Teal

So, I've barely begun this blog and I'm already behind in posting.  I made these pieces two weekends ago, but have only today gotten an opportunity to get some photos.  I wanted to make another each of the Sewing Workshop Now and Zen shirts before calling the pattern a TNT.  I had this small stack of fabrics all in the same colorway which were singing out to be used, so I threaded the machines up in teal thread and started cutting fabric.  FIrst up was the Zen in a teal and purple rayon batik.  I don't recall where I got this piece from, but I just love the colors.  On the first version of this shirt, I wasn't completely happy with the placement of the top button loop.  On this version, I played around for a bit with where to place the loop, but couldn't come up with a solution that allowed the double collar to lay more open around the neck without pulling the fabric oddly.  I finally just left the button loop off and that seems to be working so far.

Next up was another Now Shirt.  For this one, I used a piece of teal rayon woven with a basketweave texture.  I don't remember where I acquired this one either.

Finally, I had a piece of RPL ponte knit from Fabric.com (one of their Sophia knits) in a beautiful dark teal color.  For this, I used my version of the Sewing Workshop's new Stella Top, which is a remake/reissue of their older Cowl Top.  I love the cowl neckline on this pattern, but the overly dropped shoulder seam does me no favors.  So I took the cowl neck and morphed it onto the Vogue 8582 Marcy Tilton top (without the side drape).  This gives me a much more wearable top.

I haven't worn any of these pieces yet, but I'm looking forward to incorporating them into my wardrobe.

Next up is to finish a UFO--the seventh piece of the winter 6-PAC that was a sew-a-long over on Stitcher's Guild.  I was supposed to be finished by the end of January, but my motivation on this last piece seems to have been lacking.  But it will be finished in the next day or so, so I can move on to other things.

A WonTon and Background Basics

I recently obtained a piece of loosely-woven wool/poly blend boucle from Fabric.com in lovely shades of golden brown.  I knew I wanted to make a tunic to wear as a top layer of an outfit, but couldn't decide on a pattern.  Until about a week ago when I was scanning some of my Sewing Workshop patterns into the computer.  (I am slowly scanning all my patterns into Evernote so as to have a nice, accessible record of my patterns on the computer and portable on the IPad--It's taking awhile to accomplish!)  I have my SW patterns in alphabetical order, so as I came to the end of the stack, I ran across the WonTon Blouse pattern.  It had just the sleeve and neckline style I wanted.  When tracing the pattern, I simply left out the waist band pieces and extended the body to a tunic length.  I also took a tuck in the pattern to take out some length through the area of the sleeve/arm openings, as the original sleeve openings are very wide when finished.  I'm happy with the results.  It looks a little bulky on the dressform, but looks better on me.  (yes, I'm working on the self-portrait thing of me actually in the clothes.  I'm not very adept at getting a good shot yet)

Underneath the tunic are a couple of what I call "background basics."  Simple tops and bottoms in good colors that complement and set off a great third layer.  For the top, I used Vogue 8536, which has become my TNT for a basic closer-fitting knit T-top.  I use my pattern pieces from this top to compare to new patterns I'm trying for the first time when deciding what size to trace and what alterations may be necessary.  The skirt is Vogue 8435 again--apparently, this is my new favorite basic skirt pattern.  I made these pieces last Friday night and Saturday morning, and then promptly lost the sewing mojo for the rest of the weekend.  I was bummed.  Hopefully, this weekend will be better.

. . . and Zen

Since I had the pattern out to sew up the Sewing Workshop Now Shirt, I couldn't put it away without making a stab at the Now's companion pattern, the Zen Shirt.  A comparison of the pattern tissues revealed that the basic body and sleeve pieces were essentially identical, with various changes for the differing design elements.  In that regard, the Zen has a double collar (rather than the tube collar of the Now), a back pleat and a covered button placket with a single exposed button and loop closure at the top.  Since the basic bodies were nearly the same,  I traced the same Large through the shoulders and armscyes, extending to an XL through the body as I did for the Now.  I also again shortened the sleeve length.  As designed, the Zen is drafted with a longer length through the body, and I left that as is.  The pattern instructions for both shirts are very good (as is the usual case with Sewing Workshop patterns) and the sewing is fairly simple in execution.  I used a textured rayon from Emma OneSock in a color she called "Cinnamon."

I have to find a better location to photograph things.  We don't have much natural light in our current place, and the interior lights give everything a kind of golden glow--this fabric is slightly less orangey than appears here.

The next time I make the Zen pattern (and I do believe there will be a next time) I will play around with the placement of the upper button loop.  The instructions have you sandwich the loop between the two collars when they are topstitched together.  This placement keeps the collars sitting very close to the neck when buttoned.  I want to see if it is possible to place the loop slightly lower, so as to let the collars spread open just a little bit more than they do.  I think it can be done, with a little strategic hidden hand stitching.

Now . . .

I've realized lately that I've been depending a lot on knit tops to round out my wardrobe--they are quick to make, easy to care for in the laundry, easy to wear, and the colors/prints available now are just so much fun!  Knit tops made from a pattern with interesting design lines in a fabulous print can really make a statement as well--and after all, is that not part of why we sew our own garments?  But I need and want some simple, yet interesting, blouses to wear that can both hold their own as a stand-alone garment (well, with a bottom garment, of course) and be worn under a jacket.  With that in mind, I've set another mission for myself this year to bring a few of my shirt/blouse patterns to TNT (Tried-n-True) status, so that I can just pull the pattern, lay it on a fabric, cut and sew with only a little thought as to adapting the fit for the specific fabric chosen.  I started off with the Now Shirt pattern from The Sewing Workshop.

According to the size chart on the pattern, my current measurements put me in an XL (sigh.  I'm working on that--yet another of this year's personal missions).  I then pulled the tissue and did a little flat pattern measuring.  After that, I decided to trace a Large through the shoulders and armscyes, extending to an XL through the body of the shirt.  I also added 5 inches in length at the hemline.  I knew from looking at the pattern, as well as reading others' experiences with this pattern on Stitcher's Guild and Patternreview, that the Now Shirt was designed to be high hip length.  That length is not terribly flattering on my body structure, so I added.  Then I also ended up taking about 1.5 inches out of the sleeve length.  I have short arms, so this is a common alteration for me in tops and jackets.  (Or, as I read how Shams put it once--"I have the arms of a tyrannosaurus rex"--made me LOL and spit coffee on the computer.)

I also toyed with whether to add an FBA.  Sometimes I need to and sometimes I can get away without.  I decided to try going without the FBA and see what happened.  I ended up with a few draglines from the bust--more visible on the dressform than on me, thank goodness--which I decided didn't bother me.  If I keep my arms moving, no one will notice right?  Finally ready to put scissors to fabric, I went to the shelves and pulled out a beautiful rayon batik in various shades of rust and green.  It has aged in the collection for several years and I decided I deserved to use it.  Can't remember specifically where I got this fabric, but it had to have been Sawyer Brook, Waechter's or Fabric.com.  They are the only places from which I've ordered rayon batik in the last couple of years.  Buttons ended up being problematic.  I didn't have anything in my button stash that was appropriate, so I traveled to the local fabric/craft store.  An entire wall of buttons, and only one style really jumped out as working well with this fabric.  Of course, they only had four in stock and I needed five, so I have to wait until they restock to completely finish this project.  In the meantime, however, this is what I ended up with (the orangey tone is a little more muted in reality than in the photos):