A Style Arc Ginger Knit Top for Jungle January

There's nothing like an animal print and a loose fitting top to camouflage those extra few pounds that have crept on over the festive season.

I managed to whip this top up over a couple of evenings during my first week back at work, and wore it to work on Friday with my Style Arc Barb Pants. I have made this top once before here, so it seemed easier the second time around.

Style Arc Ginger Knit Top

This top is really quite a simple, yet stylish design. The front shoulder pleats and the cross over wrap create a flattering fit, and the top works well with pants and would look great with a slim fitting skirt too.

The fabric is a gorgeous jersey purchased from Style Arc a while ago. It is very good quality with a lovely drape...perfect for this pattern.

There are only three pattern pieces: front, back and back neck binding. The back is the full pattern piece so it can be cut out in a single layer. You are supposed to cut one pair of the front piece, but I found this pattern piece was too wide to cut on a double layer (fabric folded in half), so I had to cut it out on a single layer too, carefully remembering to flip the pattern piece over so that I was cutting a pair, and not two identical pieces.

The wrong side of the fabric does peek out a little at the front hemline when standing a certain way. This was a huge issue with my first version and I had to remove a large wedge of fabric from the under layer to stop this occurring. I made this version exactly as per the instructions and have not had a problem, so I don't know what I did wrong with the first one.

The print was quite a large design and I was concerned with positioning the pattern evenly over the top. I didn't have a lot of fabric to play with so I spent quite a bit of time playing around with the positioning of the pattern pieces before cutting out.

I am really pleased with how this turned out and I am glad I spent that extra time at the beginning of the project. It would have looked terrible if the same large pattern motifs had been placed side by side.

The hems were all sewn with a very narrow zig zag stitch because I was being lazy and couldn't be bothered setting up the twin needle. They all look fine and have enough stretch to prevent the thread from breaking.

This is actually my second Jungle January item sewn this month. The first is yet to be photographed...hopefully this weekend. It features a zebra print. Have you sewn something up for Jungle January yet?

Happy Sewing