Style Arc Juliet Shirt

Link to Style Arc Juliet shirt pattern here

As a fan of all the drapy, twisty patterns I loved this Style Arc shirt when it was released and ordered it pretty soon afterwards.  However when it arrived (printed copy, not pdf) and I cut it out I noticed a printing error on the cuff piece which was incomplete.  Now it's just a rectangle, but it made me think maybe there were other errors.  I did email Style Arc about it, but never received a reply, got annoyed, put the pattern away and subsequently forgot all about it.

I recently dug it out again and simply corrected the cuff piece to match the width of the sleeve.  You can see in the photo below the amount I needed to extend it by - quite a lot!

I made a test version using some inexpensive self stripe stretch cotton shirting and fortunately the rest of the pattern pieces had no problems.  I made a size 10 with no alterations so can't really complain too much!

Despite my initial disappointment with the pattern there are some good things about it, other than the style;

• smaller seam allowances on the collar making it much easier to handle
• whole collar and stand is assembled as one unit before attaching to the shirt body

The back is supposed to be slightly longer than the front, but I didn't have enough fabric to do that.  I also didn't think at all about making the stripe pattern symmetrical on the fronts, but I don't think it's that noticeable in an all white shirt.

I really haven't done a good job tying it here now I see the photos so I will pay attention to that when I wear it in real life.  It would be better to have the tie nearer to the centre as shown in the line drawing.

Now I have confidence in the pattern I do plan to make it again although somewhat ironically I may extend the sleeve to full length which would mean shortening the cuff piece again!

Style Arc Halle Stretch Pencil Skirt

Firstly thank you for commenting on the knit waistcoat on my previous post - it turns out that the pattern is designed for "wools or blends, boucle" which says woven to me and may explain why I had so many issues making it in a very stretchy knit!  Onwards, and paying better attention to suggested fabrics....

I picked up this pattern in the recent Thanksgiving sale, to be honest it probably would be quite easy to draft it from a knit pencil skirt pattern, but I do really like Style Arc's designs and I am 100% sure they are better at drafting patterns than I am!

Halle pdf pattern / paper pattern

I made this 3 times in a week so it turned out to be quite good value and clearly a fast and easy pattern.  It's designed for ponte & stable knit fabrics.  The crossover is quite generous so even when you sit down there is still decent leg coverage.

There's not a lot to say about the construction, the front skirt pieces are shaped so that the mitred corners are really easy to do, you just need to pay attention to the seam allowances which are marked on the pattern.  I added a bit extra at the side seams so I could fit on the way and I figured I might need more than the 3/8ths/8mm allowance to play with - I did this on each version as I find all fabrics behave a bit differently.

Here are my 3 skirts :

Version 1 Navy/Black
This is from a heavy black ponte with a navy, slightly sparkly, almost snakeskin print on it.  Really hard to photograph, but I love this fabric.

Version 2 Colourblocked
A contrast blocked version from remnants which is always very satisfying.  The left front and whole back are plain black.

Version 3 Panel Print
I thought the print would look odd with the asymmetric front so I just used the plain back pattern piece for both front and back.  I found it to be a bit clingy from static so I lined it with a stretch mesh lining before attaching the waistband elastic.

This simple skirt is so quick and easy to make that I can see it becoming a bit of a staple in my wardrobe and the plain version will probably be my TNT stretch skirt pattern now.  My versions are all for cool weather and quite formal, I'd definitely like to try it in a more casual look like the illustration too.

Style Arc Summer Cover Up

It seems that cover ups and kaftans/caftans are popping up around the sewing world at the moment.  Closet Case Patterns have just released one and Goodbye Valentino recently posted how to draft your own.  It makes sense, they are pretty easy to make and you can go quite wild with prints and trims!  I made this one a few weeks ago for a short resort holiday to celebrate my birthday.

Style Arc Summer Cover Up Link to Pattern

I know I say this a lot, but the fabric was another "oh my gosh I must buy it and figure out what to do with it later" purchases.  It is a silk printed with a sunset and palm trees with an ombre effect.  I actually decided to use the reverse side which is more matte and with more intense colours.

I know that silk is probably not the most practical choice for a cover up, but the reality is it won't get worn that often and it just felt like this was the perfect use for the print.  I would like to make it again in the shorter version in a more practical cotton someday.

Reverse side

Right side

I made a couple of minor changes to the pattern.  I raised the neckline around 2cm at the base of the V tapering to nothing at the shoulders.  I know I'll be wearing it over swimwear so it doesn't really matter if it shows, but that's just my preference.

I also eliminated the centre front and back seams on the bodice, but getting a nice sharp point on the front neckline would probably be much easier with a centre seam so I will leave it in next time.  I also didn't want any stitching showing round the neckline so have just secured the neck facing at the shoulder seams.

The waist seam of the bodice has a 2.5cm seam allowance to form the casing for the drawstring so unfortunately I lost some of the ombre effect and there is quite a difference between the colour of the bodice and skirt.  It's not quite how I envisaged it, but I still like it.

Here I am wearing it swanning about at a resort in Vietnam - hopefully it won't be too long before I can pull it out again!

Style Arc Imogen Maxi Knit Skirt

I really need to stop making sweeping statements on my blog.  A couple of posts after saying I always wear knit dresses all summer long, lately I have only been making skirts!  Here is one of them, a knit maxi skirt from Style Arc.  I am fairly sure I received this pattern as one of the monthly freebies with a purchase of any pattern.  I mean, I do really like it, but it's such a simple pattern I doubt I would have paid full price for it.

Style Arc Imogen

I had quite a lot of fabric left over from my black and white knit dress and I didn't want another dress in the same fabric so it seemed like a good opportunity to try out this pattern.

I didn't have quite enough fabric for the folded yoga pant style waistband so I just made a regular waistband with elastic inserted in it to fit my waist and making sure it would stretch over my hips.   In reality I will probably always wear tops untucked so this may be a better choice of waistband for me anyway.

Construction is very easy and very fast, it's one skirt pattern piece, cut 4 times and sewn together.  However the cut is lovely and I really like how it is quite sleek at the top and satisfyingly swishy round the ankles.

The fabric pattern and folds created a pattern that my camera did not like at all, but anyway....

My cats were obsessed with getting under the skirt which is sort of helpful for seeing some of the flare I suppose.

At full price I admit this is quite an expensive pattern for how simple it is, but I do love the drafting of Style Arc patterns if you don't need much in the way of instructions.  There must be similar offerings out there from other companies - among the big ones I found McCall's 7386 , a similar shape, but without the centre front and back seams and McCall's 7130 with even more seams.

I will definitely be making this skirt again soon, it's perfect for summer which is well and truly here in all it's humid glory!

Style Arc Nina Cardigan

A big thank you to Jen and Valerie for the photography tips, I have a decent, if aging a bit, Sony compact digital and I will definitely take the time to explore more of the white balance & snow settings.  I hope neither of you are going to be too disappointed in my efforts in this post, I experimented a bit, but realised I have a lot to learn and it's going to take time!

So, this is another Style Arc pattern I have been interested in for a while and finally got around to trying, the Nina cardigan, a waterfall style cardigan with a draped front, waist seam and a fitted back.  I do find some waterfall styles a bit shapeless on me as they add volume everywhere so I wanted to try this version.

Style Arc Nina

It is incredibly quick to make on a serger.  I got a bit confused by the instructions referring to a hipband, but there aren't many pieces so it was easy to figure out -this is the lower back piece which wraps round to the front and I can't come up with a better name for it so hipband it is!

I love how this turned out, it is exactly like the illustration shows.  There are a couple of things I would (will!) change  next time:

• lengthen the upper bodice slightly, the waist hits a bit high on me, only a problem if I want to wear a belt with it
• I didn't like that the front and hem edges are just serge finished, I turned and stitched mine, but I'd like to explore self facing the front neck band entirely 

Difficult to see, but the front band is sewn on last and you need to pivot where the waist seam and hipband meet.  This is what gives it the nice drape at the front while still keeping some waist definition.

You can see here that the waist seam hits above the natural waistline where the belt sits.

BurdaStyle 04/2011 - 124 Skirt & Style Arc Madeleine Top

Thanks all for the comments on my sequin top, I hope everyone had a great holiday season and that you are ready to see what 2017 brings.  I am loving reading all the 2016 recaps, not sure yet if I will get around to it, I still have things that I haven't blogged yet so I will get going on those first....

Not very sensibly, I decided in the week before Christmas that I wanted a new outfit to wear on the day, but at least I was sensible enough to use straightforward patterns I had made before which cut down on tracing, cutting and fitting time.



The skirt is BurdaStyle 04/2011-124 (previously made as a modified version in green eyelet here).  This time I kept all the seams in the skirt, the only change being to shift the zip from the side back to the side for no other reason than I didn't read the instructions!

I used this floral fabric, something like a jacquard or matelasse, it's quite stiff which works well for a party skirt to give it some structure and I love the dark, moody, oil painting-like quality of the flowers.

Reverse side of fabric showing the texture

Side zip, you can also just see the fabric texture here too

The top is Style Arc's Madeleine Ponte top.  I first made this (here)in a medium weight polyester knit really as a test version so the insides were unfinished and I really rushed it.  I ended up wearing that top until the fabric pilled like mad so a remake or two are long overdue.  This version is much more successful, mostly due to fabric choice - I guess it is called the Madeleine Ponte top for a reason!

I made a size 10 and nipped it in a bit at the waist.  Having made this before, I knew I could get away without the zip so left that off and eliminated the vertical centre back seam also.  The front band does still need to be secured in a few places on the front to keep it in place even in the recommended fabric; I just stitched in the ditch of the seam in a few places.  

I do think this would be easy enough to extend to a sheath dress and I might give that a whirl especially as I now have a healthy (or perhaps that should be unhealthy!) stack of ponte knits.

 

Here I am wearing the pieces together - despite the lack of planning and time spent on the outfit, it really was perfect for the day and it's a combination I will definitely be using again.

I think the print is quite wintery even though it is floral so I tried the skirt with boots and a jacket too for a slightly more dressed down look and to prove that this skirt needn't be just for Christmas!