Style Arc Elsie Woven Overshirt in Polka Dots

Style Arc Elsie Woven Overshirt 

I have made the Style Arc Elsie Woven Overshirt. It's hot off the sewing machine last night and worn to work today. The perfect shirt for our unseasonably cool day of 20 degrees Celsius, compared to the day before yesterday when we experienced 43 degrees. 

Style Arc Elsie Woven Overshirt

From the Style Arc Website: This square shaped shirt features the trendy reverse revere, patch pockets and roll up sleeves. A must have shirt in your wardrobe for all seasons.

I made a size 12 without any alterations. The fabric is a navy and white polka dot rayon purchased from Spotlight back in November last year. Being rayon, it has a lovely drape which tones down the boxyness of this shirt, as described by Style Arc. However, it was a nightmare to cut and sew.

I decided to take my time, and sew in shorter stints over several days, to reduce the frustration. I was able to start each time with renewed enthusiasm. There was a bit of unpicking and resewing as that rayon seems to have a mind of it's own, but I'm glad I persevered and I am pleased with the result...not perfect, but good enough.

I am wearing it today with my Style Arc Elle Pants in navy stretch bengaline. These were made back in 2014 and are starting to look a little shabby. Must be time to make some more.

The Elsie has some lovely details. I particularly love the reverse revere collar. I used a lightweight fusible knit interfacing from Spotlight in the bands and cuffs, which worked very well with the rayon. I decided not to add the patch pockets as the rayon was a bit sheer and the polka dots showing through the pockets was not a good look. 

There is a box pleat at the centre back which creates the loose fit. The yoke is unlined, and does feel a little flimsy in the rayon. This could easily be remedied in any future makes.

The high low hem and side splits are very on trend and I love the backside coverage it provides. The hem was simply overlocked and turned up 1cm and top stitched (mitred corners). I did stabilise the edge with Bondaweb before top stitching and it helped a lot. Next time I would add to the hem to allow it to be turned up twice as it would give a much nicer finish.

I followed these instructions to sew the binding on the sleeve slits, which was excellent. Style Arc's instructions are really just an order of construction. I feel that they got this a little out of order, sewing the sleeve binding after the sleeve had been sewn to the body of the shirt and the side seams sewn. This was quite difficult, but would have been much easier if done while the sleeve was flat. So do step 11 after step 8 and before step 9.

One issue I did have with the Elsie while wearing it today, was that the sleeve tabs kept falling out of the sleeve slits. They do seem to be unnecessarily long...something I will change in the next one.

Overall, I am loving my new Elsie Woven Overshirt and I can see it going with several other garments in my wardrobe too.

Happy Sewing

Jean

Style Arc Olivia Dress

According to the Style Arc website: "A great every day dress to have in your wardrobe that is very easy to sew. The flattering extended shoulder line along with the elastic waist makes this dress suitable for different occasions. Dress it up with your favourite designer belt or use the belt pattern to create your own look in a contrast fabric.

Style Arc Olivia Dress

This pattern has been around for quite a while and there are many lovely versions out there in blogland. It has taken me a while to finally purchase the pattern and try it out and I have not been disappointed.

I used this pretty tear drop printed rayon from Spotlight, but it was a nightmare to get those stripes lined up before cutting. Even though I spent quite a lot of time pinning the fabric to ensure the stripes matched, it still managed to shift and not be as perfectly aligned as I had hoped for. Next time I will steer clear of any striped patterns, especially in shifty rayon.

The only alteration I made to the pattern was to add an extra 1.5cm to the bottom edge of the bodice and the top edge of the skirt. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of fabric to be able to overlock the raw edges of the elastic casing with ease. This worked out very well. Some people have commented that the arm holes are too low and their bra is exposed, but I did not have this issue.

The bodice is maybe a little too blousey at the back, and could benefit from a little shortening. This may be due to the extra length I added to accommodate the finishing of the casing. I will need to think on this before I make another one.

I didn't make the belt included with the pattern. This narrow gold belt worked quite well with it. The neckline facing was top stitched down so there are no issues with it flipping out at all. The dress turned out very long and I ended up turning up a 5cm hem twice to achieve this length. This gave a nice weight to the hemline too. These photos were snapped in a hurry on Christmas Eve morning as we were about to head to the shops for our last bit of Christmas grocery shopping. It was cool and comfortable in the rayon and I would recommend this pattern as a nice simple wardrobe staple. Many different looks could be achieved depending on fabric choice and I think this would work well in a knit fabric too.

Happy Sewing

Style Arc Marilyn Dress

If you have been following me on IG you would know that I planned to make Vogue 8945 for my work Christmas function. Well, I chickened out at the last minute because time was running out and I was not sure how the Vogue pattern would fit. The Marilyn Dress by Style Arc caught my attention, and I know Style Arc size 12 usually fits me quite well without needing alteration. So plans were changed.

Style Arc Marilyn Dress

This simple dress is made special by the lovely split sleeve and ties and the elegant V neckline. There are two V necklines to choose from and I went with the lower one. It is a loose and gentle A line shape and is easy to wear.

I used a rayon chirramon from Spotlight which had the perfect drape for this style. The fabric behaved very well and I had no trouble sewing with it. I used a microtex needle (size 70) in my machine and a walking foot. It pressed beautifully and doesn't crease too badly, like some rayon's can do.

I felt great wearing this dress. It was comfortable and felt very elegant and I love the colour of this fabric. The only alteration I made was to lengthen it by 3cm.

The split sleeve makes this simple dress quite special. I have seen a couple of versions out there that have used a contrasting sleeve lining which looks fantastic. I already have a few ideas for future versions.

We had a great night out at a Carnival themed party at Fairground Follies and hubby wore a shirt I had made him too.

Happy Sewing

Another Tropical Scout Woven Tee

Here is Tropical Scout Woven Tee number two.

This is exactly the same as my previous Tropical Scout Woven Tee. The fabric is a very bright tropical print spun rayon purchased from Spotlight. I noticed that Sew Busy Lizzy used this exact same fabric for her second Holly Jumpsuit, By Hand London. She described the fabric as "This is a very soft drapey rayon… feels like heaven – looks like a Hawaiian riot!" which I found quite amusing. I tend to be drawn to bright colours and it hadn't even occurred to me that this print may be a bit over the top.

I am wearing it here with my navy Style Arc Elle Pants. These have been a great match and I have worn this outfit a lot already.

I travelled over to Perth last week to visit my daughter and grandson and I managed to pack only me made clothes (except for one pair of Capri jeans and underwear). I felt this was quite an achievement and made me realise just how much of my wardrobe I am sewing myself.

The photo above was taken at the top of Lesmurdie Falls overlooking the city of Perth. We had a lovely morning hiking down to the bottom of the falls and then back up to the top. 

I did manage a quick visit to Spotlight at Rockingham, but was a little disappointed with the choice of fabrics. I picked up a couple of pieces of a linen/cotton blend which I am planning to make Vogue 1382, and an outrageously bright floral print scuba knit, which I have yet to decide what to make. I also got a Buttersuede in khaki which will match my Style Arc Stacie Jeans Jacket beautifully. I'm thinking of making this into a skirt. Back to work tomorrow and hopefully, back to sewing very soon.


Happy sewing

Tropical Scout Woven Tee

 

Grainline Studio Scout Woven Tee with sleeves lengthened.

This is my fourth Scout woven tee from Grainline Studio. I have gradually been tweaking the pattern to suit/fit me and I am pretty happy with the fit I have achieved with this one. The neckline sits beautifully and it fits well through the shoulders. I have added length to the front and back so that it finishes at a more flattering level on my figure. I have also added some shaping into the side seams to take away the boxy shape. This is still easy to slip on without any extra openings. You can see my previous Scout posts here First, Second, Third. 

I used a pretty tropical printed rayon purchased from Spotlight. For this one I lengthened the sleeves, following the tutorial from Grainline Studio here. It was a very easy alteration to do and creates a different look and makes it more trans seasonal.

Ollie was watching me through the window.

As you can see I have made another pair of Style Arc Elle Pants, this time in white stretch bengaline purchased from Style Arc. I made no alterations from the last time I sewed these pants. I have previously made black, navy and teal green Elle pants and they have proved to be real work horses in my wardrobe. I'm sure these will not be the last pair I make.

That's the problem with taking your own photos. There is no one to tell you to pull your pants down to smooth out those wrinkles.

This outfit was an easy sew and a practical and comfortable addition to my wardrobe.


Happy Sewing