Monday 6 February 2017

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

39 comments:

  1. Thanks Jean, a lovely thorough review of a lovely top. I especially love your colourblocking choices and top stitch detail.

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    1. Thanks so much Maci_nic for your lovely comment.

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  2. Lovely top. Love your combo of fabrics!

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    1. Thank you Kelly. It was a happy coincidence that I had these two left over fabrics in my stash.

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  3. Very pretty and summery! And I love the delicate look of the bias neckband.

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    1. Thanks so much Debbie. This is the first time I have sewn a bias band neckline in a woven.

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  4. Great job of color blocking - the neck is perfect

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    1. Thanks MaryEllen. I do like the effect of the colour blocking and I was very happy with the neckline too.

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  5. It looks lovely, fresh and cool! Love the way you've combined the fabrics!

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  6. I like this top a lot. Very fresh!

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    1. Thanks Vicki. I think it will be a favourite top.

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  7. This is really a very pretty top. Your matching of the fabrics to each other and to the pattern worked out really well, and the bias neck band is perfect. Nice work!

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  8. Such a clever use of your fabrics, the top has turned out really well.

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    1. Thank you Karen. I'm very happy with the outcome.

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  9. A very pretty top. I like the neckline finish and have been thinking about doing this type of finish only recently! It really looks good.

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    1. Thank you Sarah Liz. This is the first time I have sewn this type of neckline in a woven.

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  10. It's a lovely top, Jean. Your fabric choices are so pretty. I never seem to have enough of anything to colour block with and I do like the look.

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    1. Thanks Kathy. I was really pleased to be able to cut this top out using both fabrics. I didn't have enough of either fabric to cut out the whole top in one fabric.

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  11. I just love the look of this top ! It's a great color combination and the use of the white was perfect. Very flattering on you.

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    1. Thank you HobbyLover. The narrow front panel creates a flattering illusion.

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  12. I just LOVE your new top. I never considered colour-blocking this pattern. Fabulous!!! And it is so flattering on you too.

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    1. Thanks OzAnnie for your lovely comment. This pattern is ideal for colour blocking.

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  13. Thankyou for the review. I have been eyeing off this pattern to use a few small pieces of fabric and your review has convinced me. Your top looks so nice and summery.

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    1. I'm glad you found my review helpful Janine. I love the summery effect of the floral and white combination too.

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  14. It's very satisfying to make such a nice top from leftovers. Looks great with your purple skirt too.

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    1. Thanks Paola. It's always a win when you make something that works well with other garments in your wardrobe.

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  15. Brilliant use of leftovers! Your top looks so fresh and neat. Time to ditch the L-plates!

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    1. Awww thank you Marianne. You say the nicest things.

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  16. I love that top - it looks so fresh for our hot summer. Gorgeous. Your cover-stitching on the neckline is wonderful.

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    1. Thanks so much BeaJay. I'm enjoying my new coverstitch.

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  17. Really fresh combination of colours and great that it's from leftovers! Win win

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  18. Beautiful fresh top, love the colours in the floral and the white make is very fresh looking. You will get there with your binder, take your time.

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    1. Thank you Sharon. I'm sure the only way to get better at using my cover stitch machine is to actually use it more. I did use it again over the weekend and even changed the threads. It was actually very easy.

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  19. Thanks for your sleeve pictures. I was frustrated trying to figure out how to sew the sleeve band on, but your pics helped. 👍

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    1. So glad my pictures were of help to you Jan. It makes blogging seem worthwhile when I receive comments like that.

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