Striped Linen Lacey

Does anyone write blog posts anymore? 

Does anyone read them?

I made this dress over a year ago - it's a StyleArc Lacey dress sewn up in a gorgeous striped linen from Tessuti fabrics - and it's one that gets a LOT of wear in summer.  The fabric was meant to be for a collared shirt for my son, but he doesn't ever choose to wear collared shirts, besides which he's been growing so fast that it felt crazy not to wait for all the growing to stop.

Hmmmm... come to think of it, he's now taller than me, so there may be a couple of years before the next growth spurt... (is that the way teenage boys grow? catch up to mum first, then a few years later catch up to dad?)

Whatever, we can call it selfish sewing ;).  I have a very forgiving son. He takes pretty decent photos too.

The Lacey dress is listed as being suitable for knit, jersey, rayon or silk fabric - in other words you want stretchy or drapey. If you choose linen you may end up with something a bit Scandi retro reminiscent, and a quick internet search ("sasha doll striped blue dress") will take you to the dress I think I must have accidentally copied.  I haven't become blond or doll-like, but the dress makes me feel good, so some subconscious desires have obviously now been fulfilled!

As usual, I should tell you about the pattern, right? 

It's a very easy sew and a forgiving fit (ie just check the waist measurement and if that's big enough to get your shoulders through you'll be fine). The shoulders are dropped and the sleeves are then basically cut on, and the skirt is simply gathered. Because there's a "feature" panel on the front and back bodices, this is a pattern you could go totally Beccy Home Eccy on - or mock pinafore - but hopefully not.  I only made very basic simple modifications in my version: extra length as usual in the skirt, and skipped the sleeve cuffs. 

These photos were taken at a beach not too far from Byron in January this year. Just to the right of the breakwater is an area where you can watch dolphins surf. We didn't see too many - one couple catching waves to the shore, swimming back out, then catching the waves in again and again - but even watching two dolphins was pretty cool.

 I can't wait to get back to the beach - but preferably a quiet one like this one!

I'll be back!


See you anon
- Gabrielle xx
Easy slip-on dress with an extended shoulder, square line bodice and slightly gathered skirt.

Irregular Checks Collared Shirt (Vogue 2634)

I intend to get through several of those items listed in my New Year's Resolution post, but with Sydney frocktails less than two weeks out I'm not letting myself go near any sewing that isn't The Dress.

And accordingly let's move onto the blogging backlog.

This one is an oldie but a goodie - a collared shirt I sewed up years ago but which I'm still wearing every now and then :). To be honest, the shirt's fit these days is not what it used to be (it used to be loose) but no buttons are actually popping, so it's still passable. I used Vogue 2634 for this shirt: the pattern was issued in 2002 so would definitely be out of print by now, but if you do come across it in the second hand store it's worth at least considering for purchase. That is unless you want long sleeves on your shirt, in which case please read Katherine's review of this pattern.  Actually you should read it anyway - she is not such a fan of this pattern, but a second perspective is a good thing!

The pattern describes itself as follows:

Loose-fitting top (three-lengths) has collar, collar band, slightly forward shoulder seams and short or below-elbow sleeves with stitched hems or long, two-piece sleeves with pleats/button cuffs. A: shaped hemline. A, B, C, D: pocket variations. B, D: flaps. D, E: sleeveless, side slits.

Mine shirt is hip-length with short sleeves - it's essentially view D with the short sleeves of view B.

I used a lovely white linen with irregular checks in navy blue - I think the occasional breaks in the navy blue lines probably represent a printing flaw, but I don't mind the way it looks. Oh and there's a small navy blob on one shoulder because all along one edge of the fabric was a navy shadow print of figures playing sport, and I didn't have quite enough fabric to entirely avoid them. I think my small blob is the top of a baseballer's head :).

The navy blue thingamabub hanging on the coathanger is a half-baked idea - yeah, that's what they look like :). Back when I made the shirt I had this idea it would be cool to have a sort of reference to uniforms and epaulettes that I could wear with the shirt when I so desired - and I sewed up this little thing with D rings only to find I couldn't attach it to itself or the shirt. So now it hangs with the shirt so I can remember what I was intending, even if I can't fulfil that intention - and that's OK, it amuses me to think I was that impractical!

Because I made this shirt a long time ago, at a point in my sewing career when I hadn't realised you didn't have to sew straight sizes and when I hadn't realised sewing pattern sizes didn't correspond to RTW sizes, I sewed this as a straight size 12.  I also hadn't realised you were supposed to wash your fabrics before sewing them, so while this shirt started its life lovely and loose, over time it's gotten quite fitted as I've grown and the linen has shrunk.


My seam allowances are finished with a 3-step zig-zag but it's held up really well over the years - I won't show you the zig-zags, but here are some close-ups of the button front (which looks like it needed more interfacing!) and the side split:

With all the crazy, non-stop, exhausting heat we've been having in Sydney (and many other parts of Australia too I gather) I'm thinking the sleeveless variant of this shirt would be ideal for work. [Just how do men cope in summer with their suits and long sleeved shirts?] Possibly a size up though, and with pre-washed fabric...

See you soon


- Gabrielle xx

StyleArc Ethel Designer Top

And here's another StyleArc top, also sewn from a pattern bought at StyleArc HQ over the Melbourne Frocktails weekend. This one is the Ethel Designer Top, and this time the pattern is one size too big :).

I was really drawn to the seam and stitch lines on this top - angled seam lines front and back, and deep facings top stitched in place around neckline and armholes. The top is pretty boxy looking though, so I wasn't sure if I was being foolish sewing this up in too big a size - hence the use of rubbishy Spotlight fabric for test purposes.

Apologies for the horrible camera angle - I didn't really think when I was taking these pictures, but obviously I'd positioned the camera way too low!

I think it would be better a size down, BUT I like this top anyway. It's very airy and comfortable, and I think the excess ease looks OK with narrow pants, though I should probably wait and see how the top looks when the fabric softens after a few more washes.

The pattern is intended to be sewn in linen, so I'm thinking of making it again in a beautiful orange linen that I got as a remnant from The Fabric Store when I went there with Nicole on her not-so-long-ago weekend in Sydney.  I think to pair it with the Ethel Designer Pants (made last summer - see this post) I'd need to size the top down to bring the waist in - otherwise I think the combo would be too voluminous all over.  Hmm looking back at that post is reminding me how lovely and loose those pants are... I think they would be fabulous in a very lightweight cotton or silk!

In the next photo I've pinched out the excess ease at the waistline; I think the top looks better like this.... 

StyleArc actually gave us printouts of diagrams showing how to grade their patterns up and down (ie how much per size for tops and bottoms), so it should be perfectly do-able to size this top down.

If I remember correctly a couple of others who've made this top have said something about the instructions for the facings being a little confusing - maybe I'm mis-remembering, but in any event I was mentally bracing myself for making mistakes when I sewed the sleeve facings.  If I understood the instructions correctly, what StyleArc suggests it to sew the armhole facings with facings right side to the right side of the top, then to flip the facings to the inside before top stitching in place, and then finally to sew the side seams. This order of construction might be what makes the approach a little different? I guess I would normally hide the side seam within a facing, but I can see that StyleArc's approach would be good if you want to avoid puckering from discrepancies between the lengths of the facing and outer armhole edges - sewing instructions are really just a suggestion though, aren't they?

There's not too much more to say about this top - it really is quite a straightforward sew, and if your fabric is wide it doesn't take a great deal of length. The pattern indicates you need between 1.7 and 1.9 metres for the top, but from recollection I got it out of 1.5 metres with lots of fabric left over. So as I said earlier, I'll probably be making this one again in a smaller size and a nicer fabric :).

Gotta go - we're heading to the beach again this afternoon!

See you soon


- Gabrielle xx

Linen Crush (Tessuti Chloe Pants + Vogue 8877 Top)

The crushing and wanting started with this image, which I saw on Tessuti Fabrics' Instagram feed.  I didn't save the image anywhere but in my memory, and as it happens, my memory then turned the outfit upside down - loose blue linen top became loose white linen top, and white shorts became blue pants (details, details!).  I already had a beautiful blue linen in my stash, bought from Tessuti fabrics a few years ago just because it was the perfect blue for something, and when the perfect pants pattern came into my possession while the outfit was still cause for obsession the ball really got rolling.  A top pattern quickly followed suit (tick!), along with a heavy white linen from an after work dash to The Fabric Shop.

And here's where I ended up:

My outfit isn't at all like the original inspiration image, and I'm at least twice the age of the girl in the original image, but this look is precisely what I wanted. The photos may or may not be in agreement - but this is my sweet spot :).

A simple pants shape, slim fitting through the hips and neither flared nor skinny, and an oversized top, loose through the bust and more fitted at the hips and lower arms. Not at all what like the original image, I know!

The pants pattern I used is the Chloe pants pattern by Tessuti patterns, which my mum was ditching because she thought the legs looked too wide for her height. The legs look to be very slightly tapered but there is still some fabric flapping around (not something I mind at all).  Normally these pants would be a proper long length on me, even with hemming (and I'm about 5'8" with fairly long legs) but I took them up about 5 centimetres to get the above-ankle length I was after, including a generous hem.  I'm thinking this length will be good for walking and doing stuff in summer - at this length there's zero risk of my tripping on my own hems.

I've sewn these up in a straight size 12, and amazingly the fit seems pretty good as is.  Second time around I could possibly remove a small wedge from the front crotch curve and maybe add that length to the back crotch curve, but the pants are really comfortable so I'll see how they feel after a few wears before I draw any fit conclusions.

There is one small annoyance with these pants: I had the choice of a darker blue (much darker than the fabric) or white invisible zip for the side seam, and as you can see I chose unwisely.  It isn't really a big deal for me - I'm planning to wear these pants with loose tops to about the length of this white top - but I do wonder if there's a way of neatly colouring in the visible white of the zip?

Anyway, regardless, I really like how streamlined these pants look.

Next time: review the fit after wear, and then make any necessary adjustments to the crotch curve; consider adding pockets on the backside (I was fumbling for pockets when I wore the pants to take photos); try them as shorts; and definitely make them again!

The top pattern is Vogue 8877, a "very easy" pattern (and yes, it is) in the size Medium (12-14).  I sewed this top (blog post here) before with short sleeves in a jersey, and it does work in a stretch fabric but it's really intended for wovens.

The top is described as a loose-fitting pullover top, but if you're busty I think you would need to seriously modify the bust seam, as the angled, dropped shoulder line takes away some of the ease you would get in the bust area IF you had a regular shoulder and sleeve. Oh and I didn't notice those dropped shoulders when I wore my earlier top, but I can really feel them on this top, and can feel if the top has wiggled to one side - so the shoulders are obviously another fitting area to watch out for.

My only adjustments to this pattern were to take the neckline in slightly on both sides and to remove some of the length in the bodice.  My adjusted neckline is now less "boat" and a little bit "square", but I think this smaller width is more proportionate to my shoulders while still fitting over my head. For the top length I had a very specific finishing length and hem depth in mind, so I did a lot of trying on and pinning and pressing in place and then cut away what turned out to be an excess of a couple of centimetres of length.

I don't think it's very noticeable in the bright sunlight (yay, Spring sunshine!) but the fabric has a damask sort of floral pattern woven into it.  I think it's pretty, but I do hope I haven't accidentally sewn myself a tablecloth top!  Hmm... more research is required here...

I added a cotton bias binding tag in the back neckline to help quickly identify back from front without the itch factor of a normal garment tag - this is one of those garments whose front and back are extremely similar, so it's actually very helpful, and I'm wishing I'd thought of it in time for the pants too.

 

The one problem I think I'll have with this top is finding jumpers or jackets to go over it - check out the width of those sleeves!  One obvious solution is to use the pattern again to sew a long-sleeved wool top - or would that be a bit much?  I've got some nice thick merino lined up for the job if I don't come up with a better idea.

Next time: sew again in a heavy knit fabric to make a jumper that will layer over this top and the many other dolman sleeved dresses and tops in my wardrobe - yay!


So all up I am a very happy camper right now.  I've got two garments I love, and they've got my imagination fired up with lots more ideas too...

Happy sewing!



See you soon

- Gabrielle xx

StyleArc Edith Top

Sometimes it's about the destination rather than the journey, isn't it. 

Finished on Saturday, photographed on Sunday (a big thank you to my son!), worn on Monday...

I can't say I enjoyed sewing this little Edith top, but now the sewing's done I'm blanking out the irritating memories and introducing it to the rest of my wardrobe.

I wore this top to work on Monday, with black cigarette pants and a skinny shibori scarf, and getting changed after work I was frankly surprised at how well it also went with my crumpled old khaki shorts. I rather like it with jeans, and I reckon it's going to work with knee length straight or pencil skirts too.  Smart OR casual, breezy AND good with a jacket - yes, this is definitely going to be a wardrobe staple.

So the destination is a happy one - Edith has found a warm and loving home - but let me tell you about the journey and its irritations.


- - - - - - - -


First up, this is a StyleArc pattern, bought as a pdf through StyleArc's Etsy shop* at the same time as I bought the Ethel pants pattern.  I don't particularly enjoy sticky taping bits of paper together, but I'm not confident my size in StyleArc patterns is a constant, so it feels safer to get the 3 different sizes in one download than to pick a single size (and then wait for it to arrive in the mail from StyleArc in Melbourne).  I can see that StyleArc sells multi-sized printed patterns through Amazon, which looks like a great option, but I don't think they ship back to Australia (anyway, doing so would make me feel environmentally reckless).
* : that is not an affiliate link.  I can't be bothered with affiliate links so there are none on this blog.

StyleArc pdfs are pretty good as these things go - they're obviously professionally put together. On top of the usual technical drawings and instructions, this pattern included a test square, top tips for downloadable patterns, and a layout guide that showed how the pages should be stuck together.  The pattern pieces themselves were clean-looking with lots of details marked on them: seam allowances (which vary according to the seam), printed size, pattern piece name, direction of grainline and notches were all marked clearly. 

So far so good, and the next few steps were fine too.

StyleArc don't add extra ease to their patterns, so although I'm between a size 8 and a size 10 in their size guide, I decided to go with the size 10 to avoid making something that might potentially feel too snug (ha! done that before).

My fabric is a linen, as I'm sure you can see, and I think the top looks great in this fabric, but linen is not one of the recommended fabrics.  StyleArc suggests crepe, rayon, silk or voile, and while I imagine they'd be lovely to wear I think the details in this top could be very tricky to sew neatly in a drapey fabric.

Speaking of fabric, I bought this lovely lightweight linen from The Fabric Store in Surry Hills, Sydney in one of their sales last year.  I wasn't planning on buying it, but then someone else brought the bolt to the counter and I realised I loved the colour (still do!), so I added enough for a little top to my purchases.

Onto the sewing. 

The first problem here was me. My eyes are getting old (well, I am too), and don't enjoy reading small print with minimal white space between the lines, so reading the instructions was not fun.

And everyone knows StyleArc's instructions are sparse, so no surprises there. Initially the sparseness  isn't a problem - interface a couple of key pieces, sew and press the bust darts, sew the pocket flaps (taking note that the small type says "pocket" and not "placket", because that would be confusing,,,), and finish off the pockets with top stitching as neat as you can manage.

Next up, assume the brace position. 

The next step is the one that made me put aside sewing this top for about a month.

Maybe oxygen would have helped me focus on the instructions, but the diagrams for the partial placket just confused me - I'm used to the shaded areas of the tech drawings in pattern instructions representing the right side of the fabric, but for StyleArc the shaded areas mean the wrong side. Ha!
Too confusing for late nights, and so I fell down the nightmarish rabbit hole of dodgy internet tutorials.

If you get stuck on the partial placket, can I strongly suggest you stay away from your computer at this point? The best thing to do - if you want to avoid learning how to sew a crooked faux partial placket on top of a child's t-shirt - is to furrow your brow, stick your fingers in your ears, take a deep gulp of air, and re-read, re-read, and re-read StyleArc's instructions and diagram as slowly as you can.

Eventually the placket instructions made sense and my own partial placket took shape. I don't think it's a good example of a placket, and I think the placket design and instructions could have been better - the way this placket is designed gives you a lot of bulk at the bottom of the placket where the left and right sides are both folded under, and I'm thinking perhaps it could have been drafted as a single strip with a double rather than quadruple layer of fabric at the bottom.

Oh and if you get the bright idea of slightly staggering the heights of the two placket pieces to avoid getting a big lump of fabric at the end of the placket, be aware that this will affect your neckline. Mine is now also staggered :).

It still works!

One thing I DO like about the placket is that it needs no buttons or buttonholes. At this point in the sewing, my brain thought "Thank #%^&!!" (yes, that is a direct quote) and I knocked out those horizontals across the placket very quickly, not even bothering to check the spacing or straightness.

And back to the collar; I should mention that it's drafted as two curved pieces with narrow seam allowances - absolutely do-able in linen with a hot iron and lots of care, but probably a real challenge in something drapey.  Sue Parrott made this top in a viscose challis last year, and she replaced the drafted collar pieces with a single wider strip of fabric cut on the bias and folded in half lengthwise - it looks good and sounds much more do-able than using two narrower, curved pieces of drapey fabric.

The second last step in sewing this top is attaching the hip bands, the under layer that sticks out below the top with what looks like a split at the sides.

I love the look of this detail - very RTW, I think - but the instructions are not especially clear here either   I overlocked the upper edges of the "hip bands" and the lower edge of the top. pressed a deep hem to the top (measured every couple of centimetres to keep it the same depth all round), then pinned the hem bands to the inside of the top.  I then measured the depth of the hip band all the way around the top to make sure it was consistent, especially near the side splits, and THEN stitched the layers together in the round with a little overlap between the front and back hip bands on the inside seams.

Once the hip bands are done you're nearly there - all you have left to do are the sleeves or armhole bindings.

StyleArc refers you to a double bind tutorial on their website to sew the binding to the armhole, and suggests you make a circle of the binding and attach it to the cicrle of the armhole. If your , but if your fabric is likely to have stretched out at all you can sew the binding in the flat and overlap the ends, or (if you planned ahead) you can sew the binding to the armholes before you sew the side seams of the top. Mine is sewed on with overlapped ends.

And that's it!

The Edith top pattern gave me a few headaches along the way, but in the end I have a top that I'm going to wear heaps. I do recommend the pattern because it makes for a lovely top, but it's definitely a pattern to take on when your head is clear and the lighting is good! 

Happy sewing


- Gabrielle xx