Style Arc Jema Panel Dress in Denim

Style Arc Jema Panel Dress

This panelled shift dress features a round neck and slight bell shaped sleeves. The panels offer a colour blocking opportunity or the panel seams can be frayed to create an exclusive look.

Style Arc Jema Panel Dress

I could not find any other Jema Panel Dresses on the internet, except for Anne from Clothing Engineer who has done an excellent review of this pattern which I found most helpful. The line drawing is not quite right. The proportions of the panels are different. I moved all the horizontal panel lines (except the top short front panel) down about 10 cm to better reflect the line drawing. I cut a straight size 12 and made no other alterations.

The fabric I used is a light weight denim from Spotlight. I decided to go with the frayed seam lines as a feature. The fringe is a light blue one way, and navy blue on the opposite grainline. I was careful to make sure the light blue fringe would feature on the vertical seam, and the navy fringe on the horizontal seams.

The pattern went together easily, a testament to Style Arc's great drafting skills. This dress was quite simple to construct and I would recommend it for a beginner seamstress. Anne from Clothing Engineer expanded on the technique of lapping the seams before creating the fringe which I found very helpful. I have included a photo of this step to show it clearly.

The lower panel's raw edge must be finished off to avoid fraying. (I overlocked mine). Mark a line 2cm from the finished edge. Mark a line 1cm from the raw edge of the upper panel that will be frayed. Now lap the upper panel over the lower panel, lining the raw edge up with the marked line on the lower panel. Pin and stitch along the line marked on the upper panel. Then stitch another line parallel to the stitching line.

Red thread was used for the entire construction of this dress, as I thought it would be a fun contrast, and I was too lazy to bother changing threads between sewing seams and top stitching. For the top stitching I used a triple stitch to make it stand out and I am really pleased with how this worked out.

I sewed this dress in a few stints over the Easter break and I found creating the fringe to be very time consuming, but I do like the effect. I opted to turn up the hem, and the sleeve hems and top stitch with two rows of triple stitch, rather than finishing off with a fringe.

I sewed the sleeves in flat, before sewing the side seams and sleeve seams all in one go. The sleeves eased in effortlessly. I only needed to run one row of gathering stitches around the sleeve head to ease it into the armscye. I eliminated the back neck opening as it was unnecessary and the neckline is finished off with a double inside binding and top stitched. I also added a decorative top stitch on the shoulder seams and the centre back seam.

After wearing this dress all day today, I am a little disappointed in how it has bagged out in the seat and is sticking out strangley at the lower front, probably due to me sitting all day at work. This fabric may have been a little too stiff for this pattern and a fabric with a little more drape may have worked better. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Now onto the next project...

Happy Sewing

Jean

Style Arc Courtney Top from Leftovers

The Style Arc Courtney Top is a great pattern for trying out some colour blocking. I was rummaging through my fabric stash looking for something suitable, when I came across the left over floral cotton/linen blend from this dress and the white linen left overs from this shirt. I had just enough of both the fabrics to combine the two and create this top.

Style Arc Courtney Top

  
This top has some lovely design features and was fairly quick and relatively easy to construct. There are no darts or closures to worry about and the fit is meant to be loose, so there are no fitting issues to deal with either.

I love the combination of the plain and the busy fabrics. I think the white tones down the busy print and the combination has worked well. I am wearing it here with my purple Colette Mabel skirt which tones in well with the purple flowers in the floral print.

Even in this cotton/linen blend fabric, the shape of the blouse is not too boxy or shapeless. I love the interesting detail that the back yoke and gathers give to the back. I cut a size 12 and made it up with out any alteration to the pattern. It was drafted beautifully and went together easily.

I top stitched all the seams, except the side seams. I like the extra detail it adds to the top and it also keeps the seam allowances lying nice and flat. The arm bands are designed to be turned up like a cuff, but I preferred them left like this. The white arm bands help tie in the front panel and give a nice balance to the garment.

The raw edge at the hem was over locked and turned up and secured with a top stitch. I wanted to preserve as much length as possible. If I was to make this again I would lengthen it a couple of centimetres, especially if I planned to wear it with pants, rather than a skirt. I have a long body and I find a longer top suits my figure better.

The neckband is a length of bias cut linen stitched to the neckline and then cover stitched to finish it off. I have still got my L plates on with my cover stitch machine, but I was pretty pleased with how this turned out. A little bit wobbly on one shoulder, but not too bad.

I am quite pleased with my Courtney Top and very pleased that I was able to create it out of some left over fabrics too. I can see a few more of these in my wardrobe soon.

Happy Sewing

Jean

Style Arc Esme Designer Knit Top

The Esme Designer Knit Top appealed to me the minute it was released. The relaxed fit and stylish design lines ticked all the boxes. I have been making the most of the Christmas Holidays by spending time in my sewing room over the last couple of days, much to my daughter's disgust. She just doesn't get the fact that I love to sew.

Style Arc suggest using ponte or scuba knit to make up this top. I have a lovely printed scuba knit ear marked for this pattern, but I decided to use this less precious rich purple delux ponte from Spotlight, to make a test garment.

I made one alteration to the pattern before I started, and that was to add 5cm to the length of the front and back pattern pieces. I added the length in just above the top of the side split. I am long in the body and I knew that I would not find the length flattering on my body, as drafted.

I am happy with the length after my alterations and the fit is ok as drafted. I made a size 12. I love how beautifully the collar sits at the neckline. I was a little dubious about cutting the collar on the bias in a knit, but this has created a lovely result so I am now sold on the idea. The collar only worked folded over. I couldn't make it stand nicely as illustrated on the pattern envelope.

The instructions suggest sewing the seams, pressing them open and then top stitching them down as a feature. I went with this suggestion and am very pleased with the beautiful neat finish this created. All raw edges were overlocked to create a neat edge, before the seams were sewn on the sewing machine.

The front and back hems, side slits, side seams and armhole edges, were top stitched with one continuous line. I did press and pin quite extensively before beginning the top stitching, but I am very pleased with how neat this turned out.

The back collar points turned out beautifully and this was quite easy to achieve. The instructions were clear and also provided diagrams for this step. This ponte was very well behaved and all the corners and points turned out so well. Not something I always have great success with.

The skirt was also made to wear with this top. I used the Colette Mabel Skirt pattern, combining the style of version 1 with the length and kick pleat of version 3. I have made the Mabel skirt twice before and am still working on the fit. This one is made from a scuba knit from Spotlight. I used the purple ponte to line the waistband. I have also inserted elastic into the waistband to make it feel more secure. 

The kick pleat is constructed in the usual way, as opposed to the Colette way of sewing it closed. I think it sits better open. There was enough delux purple ponte left over to make another Colette Mabel skirt, which can also be worn with the top to create a different look.

Now on to the next project...


Happy sewing

Style Arc Misty Stretch Pull-On Jean

Summer is here and I have found my wardrobe lacking in the casual pants department. I recently purchased the Style Arc Misty Stretch Pull-On Jean pattern and I had a 1 metre piece of stretch bengaline (also purchased from Style Arc several months ago with plans to make a skirt), marinating in the stash. I realised that this would be enough fabric to make a shortened version of the pants...perfect for the warmer weather.

This pattern appealed to me because of the "jean like" features included: front mock pockets, coin pocket, mock fly, back yoke and back pockets. Yet the comfort factor was retained with the elastic waist, and the ease of wear with the "pull on " style.

Style Arc Misty Stretch Pull-On Jean

I enjoyed sewing these pants in short bursts whenever I got a spare moment during the week. There are lots of little steps that fitted in well with short time sewing opportunities.

The fabric is a good quality stretch bengaline in a denim look colour, however it is much more light weight than stretch denim. It is quite stretchy and has excellent recovery. I made my usual Style Arc size 12 and these were cut and sewed with no fitting alterations.

The only alterations I made was to remove 30 cm from the hem line to create the 3/4 length. I also changed the method for attaching the elastic waistline. I had read that the exposed double layer of elastic was not so comfortable against the skin (and I couldn't buy any 3cm wide elastic), so I used the Style Arc Barb Pant waistband, which encases the elastic inside a waistband. This has worked very well and the pants are very comfortable.

I was very disappointed when I saw these photos of the back of the pants. I didn't realise there was so much wrinkling at the back. I have been trying to find out how to fix this issue but there doesn't seem to be any clear cut solutions. I think I need to add width to the back leg but I'm not entirely sure about how to do this. Should I add it to the in-seam, or the side seam, or both. Or should I cut and spread the pattern piece, adding width at the centre of the pattern piece? I welcome any suggestions or advice please.

I am happy with the pocket details. All the top stitching was done with a twin needle, as instructed. I just used a normal Gutermann poly thread in a pale grey and I am pleased with the result.

I was pretty pleased with my seam matching at the yoke considering I sewed this seam on the overlocker. Don't you love it when things work out well, when you are not really expecting them to.

Unfortunately, all the top stitching details will mostly be hidden because I will always wear these pants with a longer style top. Looking forward to your words of wisdom regarding my wrinkling issue so I can apply them to my next pair.


Happy Sewing

Blue Grainline Morris Blazer

The new Morris Blazer from Grainline Studio has certainly been doing the rounds out there in blogland. I finally succumbed and bought the PDF version.

Grainline Studio Morris Blazer

After doing lots of internet research, reading many reviews and looking at many Morris Blazers made up on many different body shapes, I decided to make a couple of small changes to the pattern. I cut a size 10 based on my bust measurement and I lengthened both the sleeves and the body by 8cm (about 3 inches).

I am quite long in the body and relatively tall about 173cm (5' 8") and cropped jackets don't suit me very well. I am happy with the new proportions these alterations achieved.

This jacket is quite boxy so if you are after some shaping, this is not the pattern for you. I like the way the jacket fits and it turned out just as I had expected.

The sleeves are only just long enough with the extra length I added and I may add a bit more length for the next one. The original pattern is not intended to have full length sleeves, this was just my preference.

The hems and front openings are finished off with a separate interfaced facing. This provides some structure to these key areas. I did find that the front facings tend to want to flip out a bit during wear, so I may catch them down with some hand stitching to keep them in place. The front edges are finished off with top stitching.

The hem facing is also top stitched which creates an interesting line at the front points. The fabric I used for this blazer was a Monaco Double Knit in Sapphire Blue purchased from Knitwit last year. This was one of my disappointing online purchases that was nothing like I expected and totally unsuitable for what I had intended to make, and therefore has been sitting in my stash for quite a while. Well, if you wait long enough, the perfect pattern turns up. This fabric was ideal for the Morris Blazer and Knitwit currently has this fabric on sale and it comes in lots of lovely colours too.

As you can see in the photo above, I simply overlocked the raw edges of the facings rather than turning them under. I had matching thread in the overlocker, so I thought this would look ok and reduce any unnecessary bulk. 

I can see a few more Morris Blazers in my future, and I can see why this has been a very popular pattern. It is quick and easy to make as well as being easy to wear.


Happy Sewing

Style Arc Lani Woven Tunic

I was immediately smitten with the recently released Style Arc Lani Woven Tunic.

Style Arc Lani Woven Tunic

The interesting design lines and the flattering shape was the draw card. I made up a straight size 12 (which is my usual Style Arc size) without any alterations.  I am wearing them with my Style Arc Barb's Stretch Pants made in Style Arc's stretch bengaline in midnight, which I have yet to blog.

In reality, this is not the figure flattering shape I was expecting. My tunic turned out a bit boxy, but to be fair, this may be due to my fabric choice. I used a lovely soft 100% cotton shirting, in a super fine check called sage, purchased from my new favourite local fabric shop...Patchwork on the Bay. Style Arc recommend linen, silk or any soft woven. I'm pretty sure the fabric I used would be classed as a soft woven, but it may have been a bit lightweight. I think this pattern would be best suited to a fabric with a bit more weight and drape so that it doesn't stand away from the body.

The interesting design lines can be seen a bit clearer in the photo above. I top stitched all the decorative seams to highlight them. There is a pocket inserted into the angled seam on the right hand side. The asymmetrical hemline at the front is a nice feature. It is a little tricky to get those corners mitred neatly but after taking my time I am happy with how they turned out. 

There is an armhole dart on the left hand side to add some shaping. Although the instructions are very brief there were several diagrams that were of great assistance in working out how all the pieces were to be joined together. I did deviate from the instructions, and sewed the sleeves in flat. They fitted the armscye perfectly without having to use any gathering stitches.

A lot of the decorative seams are cut on the bias so I took extra care not to stretch these edges before sewing. Sorry about the wrinkles, but I took these photos this afternoon after I had worn it to work all day.

The neckline is finished with a facing and it sits beautifully. My only gripe is that it is much higher than the illustration leads you to believe.

There are no closures required on this tunic. It slips on easily over your head.

Although I am a little disappointed in the overall look of my tunic, I am really pleased with the level of finish that I achieved. This pattern is a little challenging and was quite satisfying to sew. I might try this one again in fabric with more drape one day.

Happy Sewing