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 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