Style Arc’s Diana Top, and Dress versions

The Style Arc Diana Top pattern wins by far in my MOST MADE category. I first made the tank top back in May 2015, and then another 2 times (last one needs rebinding). But I’ve also extended it to dress length and made 6 versions (or 7, if I count an early mistake, where I didn’t add width at the hips. !#$%^&*!) You’ll find me wearing these dresses all summer, it’s just so easy to throw this beauty on.

So, starting with the first top, it’s made from a really lovely navy eyelet jersey that I bought at Darrell Thomas’ in a sale on a whim, and didn’t have a clue what I’d use it for. Honestly, it sat in my stash like a lost soul for over a year, probably longer. I have no idea what made me think of this pattern for it, but I do recall that feeling of Eureka!!

   

I followed the pattern instructions for the edges and just turned them under, but the neckline had to be shifted up as usual. The navy skirt is another absolute favourite, a Cake patterns Hummingbird. Love it. And in denim it wears so easily. I’ve worn this combination about a hundred times, over 2 summers, and I still love it.

For the red jersey top I bound the edges, it’s OK but I prefer the look of the original finish. This skirt is also a Style Arc, the Fay skirt which is SO FRIGGIN EASY to sew! The design is fabulous, there are 2 layers but it’s one piece, the top one folds under and goes back up to be attached at the elasticated waist, so no need for a slip. The fabric came from Montreal where I went berserk and bought about 15 meters of assorted fabrics at bargain prices, unheard of here in Ottawa. I’ve got loads of this fabric left and will make the dress version for this summer.

Then the dresses, the first being the same navy eyelet jersey. This looks so elegant, it’s the fabric that does it. In August that same year, I made my funky synthetic version, also Montreal fabric (no idea what that material is, but it’s SO cool all the time, and never static.) Fabulous! I’ve had so many compliments on this dress.

 

That fabric’s got a great stretch, I can tuck one side into the waist of my me-made Jalie cycle shorts and bike in it. (Poor photo, but you get the idea.)

Then in the summer of 2016 I did another trip to Montreal where I bought EVEN MORE fabric and I made a whole bunch more.

 

The one on the left is a very stretchy fabric, and it really weighs down. The right one is a very similar print, but the fabric itself is a bit firmer and not so weighty, but I tightened up the bindings anyway.

 

It’s funny looking at these last two, I wasn’t sure about the fabric when I bought it, but they’re growing on me! The navy/red/wave version took more time because of pattern placement; I agonized over where to position the blocks! MUST make a note for future versions (cause I’m not finished making this), to stick with either plain or busy patterns like the previous two.

Roll on summer! I’ve got another one ready to sew.

Day-to-Night Top in Red

This pattern is Maria Denmark’s Day-to-Night top. Lovely, quick top, what’s not to like! Also, uses hardly any fabric.

(It’s hard to take a nice shot with a timer beeping! I get all awkward.) The fabric is leftover from my Pavlova top, and still have large bits left. This fabric is lovely to sew with, unbelievably, for a jersey.

I cut the top according to my bust/waist/hip measurements, so graded between sizes. It really is bang on! I like how it’s snug at the bust, since cowls have a tendency to expose oneself when bending forward. That’s the one thing I don’t much like with cowl tops, but they do look dressier than a plain neckline. This one doesn’t really do that! so *snug* must be the right thing for cowls.

I don’t think I made any alterations to this, but I will next time. The shoulder seams need to be moved forward, they’re too far back on me, but that’s my forward neck tilt. This alt is a standard on all tops, but I couldn’t get my brain around it at the time! The lower back has excess fabric, as usual, so I’m looking into sway back adjustments again. But I’m happy with this, it’s wearable, and there are 2 more pieces of fabric that will soon be made into this top too. I need them for MMM next month.

Oh, yeah! I finally wore my Colette beignet skirt the other day, but I’m not happy with the back waist – it sticks out and looks weird. I’ll post about it soon (I keep saying that!) so you can see. It needs redoing… ~sniff~ I have to remember: KEEP CALM AND SEW ON!

Burda Style 02-2013-127 Top with Raglan Sleeves

As soon as I saw this top I knew I had to try it. Those ruched raglan sleeves seem to draw the eye upward and widen the shoulders. And after seeing some others appearing in the blogosphere it clinched it.

I decided to leave the hem alone, the fabric just rolls like crazy.

We had a really nice day last week and finally I didn’t have to wear winter boots! I love these brown boots, and they’re great for the shoulder seasons, they seem to go with many things too. Like grey! I love this combination. (Next time I’ll smile a bit!!)

 

And instead of the standard binding for the neck, I sewed one long edge to the inside first and then folded it over the front and topstitched without turning under, so the raw edge would roll over the stitching. I really like it! The only thing is that the binding is a bit too short and pulls the neckline. But oh well! Next time.

So fabric, I used another piece of fabric from stash, one of two pieces – different colours, same type - bought at the same time with the intention of making the same top. (This is also how I buy RTW, in multiples.) It’s a cotton/spandex and handles very nicely. I really like this grey colour, it’s becoming one of my basics, and I like how it goes with other basic colours.

As to the pattern, I made quite a few alterations. Even though I went with a size 38 for the upper chest/shoulder area it was really loose on my muslin (yes, I did a muslin!) and even when I tried it on too. This is an old T-shirt, it has no spandex so not a lot of stretch.

Oh right, I’ve decided to name my dress form Annie! It came to me in a flash, maybe a bit lame, you know,… I’m Steph and …she’s Annie…

Anyway, there was a lot of fabric in the shoulder area (on me and my dress form) and  started by pinning out across the front, a typical forward neck tilt alteration for me. But I see from the photos (I realize only *now* how this is useful!) that I removed this, and then tried a few different things (I LOVE having a dress form!) and ended up doing a bit of a full bust adjustment. NEVER in my life have I done this before, I never thought I needed it. But it seemed to help reduce the pulling. I have to mention, someone commented to this effect last year on my Sorbetto tops.

   

I slashed the upper back and raised it, also a standard alteration for my forward tilting neck (photo at left). Then I tried to minimize the sway back (right photo), but this didn’t translate well on the finished garment! Different fabrics sure behave differently! The sleeves got a big fisheye dart taken out too, but in hindsight this might not have been a good move because it changed the raglan seam from a straight line to a curve.

The altered pattern pieces look like this (back, sleeve, front).

After looking at the photos again, I might just nip in the waist a tiny bit. Overall though, I really like this top. And I’ll make another one soon too! Need more tops.

Next time I’ll reveal the Maria Denmark Day to Night top I made from the leftover red fabric of the Pavlova. This was such a nice quick make! And soon, soon the Beignet skirt…it needs a belt, and I have to make one.

Happy Easter everybody!

Pavlova Wrap Top

…is finished. I finally managed to follow along with a sew along! It’s great to see everyone else’s versions coming to life. (Updated March 29 with better pictures.)

Pattern:  Cake patterns #0169, Pavlova Wrap Top and Skirt. I just made the top.

Description:  Ballet style wrap top in jersey ties at the natural waist while the back tucks into the skirt as a 'muffin cover.' The top is cut all in one piece with the sleeves, which may be cut longer or shorter. The four-piece circle skirt makes optimal use of fabric, zips up the back and features a pintucked patch pocket. A strong, simple, neat double binding finishes the waist edge of the skirt.

Sizing: I was on the bottom end of size 35, but went down to a 30 and made some alterations.

Fabric:  From the stash. It’s a pretty stretchy cotton/spandex knit from Fabricland, bought over a year ago. I used approximately 1.2 m of 140-ish cm width.

Alterations:  Since I went down a size I had to lengthen the top by 1.5 inches, and increase the circumference of the sleeves by 1 inch. I ended up lengthening the top in 2 places, splitting the increase, and the higher increase also incorporated the sleeve width increase.

Likes/Dislikes:  I do like this top, especially the back ‘muffin cover’! It’s very comfortable to wear. But because this top stops just at/below the waist, it is best worn with skirts/pants that are waist high (unless you don’t mind exposing your belly!) I don’t have any high-waisted pants or jeans, just a couple of skirts.

Steam-a-Seam!! I’d never used this before, can you believe it? It’s amazing stuff! This made sewing the loooong front facing so easy, as NO pins were required.

Notes:  The neckband application is a bit unusual, and I stared at the instructions for quite some time (other participants mentioned the same thing). Steph C (the designer) added more photos and tips during the sewalong, which were invaluable in figuring it out!

There are a few things that need tweaking: the sleeves need to be longer OR shorter, they’re right ON my elbow and it’s rather annoying. Another 1/2 inch added to the sleeve width would also make it more comfortable. I’d probably also add another inch to the body length, so it’s not so snug on my shoulders.

Conclusion:  I’d probably make one more top in another colour, maybe two more. I just like having multiples of the same things! It would be interesting to make this in a slightly warmer/thicker fabric, as long as it has great drape. I’m just a bit concerned with the amount of fabric at the waist, it’s not a place where I need more bulk! Merino wool knit sounds fabulous, I just don’t know where to find this in Canada.

One thing I have realized is that I won’t be making the skirt. There’s a lot of fabric there, and being the pear shape I am, it will only make me look more so!

So there you have it! I have been quite busy sewing and there are two more finished objects: a ruched-raglan sleeve Burda top 02/2013 #127 and the Colette beignet skirt. You’ll be able to see those next time.

Burda 09-2010-121 Top – Revisited

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So Google Reader will be no more in 3 months  :(   I am attempting to “claim” my blog at Bloglovin, and as of yet I have NO idea what that means, but it seems important. If anyone knows what this is all about please leave a comment.

And before I go on, thanks for the comments on the buttons for my beignet skirt in the last post. There was a pretty unanimous vote for the swirly ones. After trekking to two Fabricland stores I found enough and some spare. Hopefully I’ll be able to show you this skirt before the end of the week!

Well, back to the main story. Ever since my first post on the Burda top, there has been a steady flow of readers to it from 2 bloggers (that I can see from googling) as they have mentioned it in their post and provided links. I have to say a huge thank you to them for believing that what I wrote made sense! Anyway, even when I wrote the post, I felt that the photos of how I sewed the neck were too small. Last year I started to add the text to the images, and finally republished the post.

Bigger pictures with text and arrows pointing to key things are so much better! I hope these still make sense to future visitors.

Next post I’ll show you the new Burda top I just finished, and one that’s making the rounds. (I needed a quick fix from the beignet!)

Burda Style Tunic 01-2013-125

This has to be a record for me. I actually made this top in January, the same month in which this issue was published! I’m just a little behind blogging about it.

This top is featured in the magazine in a sequin fabric. Mine is a velour! Definitely not the same, but I liked the simple shape and have been looking for an easy pattern to use for velour. Ideally I want a standard sweatshirt pattern, like this one from That’s Not My Age. I’ve got a piece of luscious, velvety velour, and in a similar colour too (it’s way nicer than the fabric I used on this tunic).

The velour used for this version is ok, but the nap is a bit flatter, so it’s more of a wearable muslin. I made my usual adjustments on the paper pattern pieces, but there are still some things that need tweaking, mainly the shoulder slope/armscye depth. The photo at left is how it sits normally, and the right one shows how it sits when I lift my shoulders a bit – some of the pull lines disappear and it looks a bit smoother.

 

When I look at these photos I really notice how sloped my shoulders are. I already sloped the shoulders a bit and dropped the armscye, but it looks like a bit more is needed. Here are the side shots with my shoulders normal (left) and up (right).

 

One of my usual alterations is to widen the sleeve at the bicep by 1 inch, which ends up dropping the sleeve cap height. I’m not sure if height can be added back without lengthening the sleeve’s top edge. Do those sleeves look alright? Those wrinkles are always there pointing up to the sleeve cap, and it niggles me a bit!

I think I need to do something with the front though, it’s got the same thing happening as on my last Sorbetto, where the front hem sticks out. Someone commented on that post that I may need to do a slight FBA. I wondered about pulling in a bit of fabric under the bust dart (increasing it) which would essentially rotate the bottom front section and pull the hem back in. Anybody else have any idea?

This is the back shot, which I’m not keen on.  At all! My butt is acting like a shelf! I’m not sure how a swayback adjustment could make this look much better, as the fabric is hefty, and the top is hip length after all. This style just might be one of those I should stay away from, as NOONE here at home has even commented on it.Does that say it, or what?!

The line drawing looks nice, slimming!

I guess I’ll just keep looking for a pattern more in the vain of a sweatshirt that has a bottom band and sits above the high hip. OR, get my dummy/twin finished and drape one. And that’s coming on slowly, but some progress has been made! More on that front soon.

Finishing Touches…

Just a note to post some finished objects, one sewing related, and one not!

The resized knit top from Sears came out all right. It’s wearable, but I’ll see if I can tweak the front knot a bit more as it still bulges a bit. Here are the Before and After shots:

 

The fabric was a *b^gger* to sew; it’s one of those really thin, slippery knits that will NOT stay put! Can you imagine, 4 hours to fix this? Nuts!! So here’s what I did:

1. Cut off the sleeves at the armhole seam
2. Sew the new shoulder seams about 1 inch down, to lift up the Plunging V-neck
3. Open up the side seams a couple of inches down from the armhole seam, and the same on the sleeve
4. Sew the sleeves back in, sort of on the flat
5. Resew the side seam and back down the sleeve (I didn’t take the seams in, just resewed it)
6. Added clear elastic to the bottom of the side seams for a ruched effect
7. Fiddled with the front knot (there’s a CF seam there!) to reduce the weird bulging

And now that I have a fairly nice top, there is nowhere to wear it. ~sigh~ Yet! It’s too damn cold in the house to put this on without a fleece or cardi! As I said in a previous post, this type of sewing would not have even occurred to me had it not been for following Beth’s fabulous refashioning blog, The Renegade Seamstress.

On a last note, here’s a picture of our Finally finished kitchen, with it’s new backsplash. We did it a couple of weeks ago, and it only took a few days. The longest day was actually putting the tiles (in sections) on the wall, and cutting and filling in the edges. Then a couple of days to rest (the tiles, that is) and half a day to grout.

 

Oh, and those are 4 new lights too. I think we put them up back in September, and what a difference they make over the old ones. No problem seeing the dirt mess with those on!

The two t-shirts I wanted to compare during my Home Alone did get sewn up, but are still awaiting some fitting adjustments. But I’ve decided to put them on hold (yah, more UFOs!!), since winter isn’t the best time for this type of garment, and I am in DIRE NEED of actual “Cake” clothing. I have an idea…!

A White Ruby Slip

Or rather, a camisole. I wanted to test this before making a full length version, because well I am now unable to make a pattern without first making a toile first. There. It’s funny, until 3 years ago, I’d made only …ONE. And I’d made many skirt suits, 3 winter coats before then. I have been converted. But I digress.

Back to the Ruby Slip/Camisole.

It’s a *tiny* bit snug under the bust, but it’s good everywhere else. Not bad for a toile! The lace wasn’t wide enough so I had to piece it, and it actually turned out fine. Too bad the lace isn’t very soft. But the (poly) satin is really nice, and I’ve got enough left over for another one.

The fabric was actually pretty easy to hem, it didn’t slip around as much as I’d thought it would. Following Sherry’s sew-along for the slip was great.

As I was making the tubes for the shoulder straps, I stumbled upon an easy way to turn them right side out. After following Sherry’s directions I used a large needle (wool?) and tied the long thread around the eye in such a way that made it easy to remove at the end. Here’s some pics…

Make sure you leave the tail end of the seam’s thread at least as long as the tube. Push a loop of thread through the eye…

 

…and hold the needle hard against your finger.

Take the loop and wrap it over the top of the needle…

 

…then pull it tight. When you insert the needle, eye first, into the tube the thread will not come loose.

 

Here’s the neat part, after it comes out the other end, you just need to pull the needle back and release/pull the thread loop back over the eye. It’s a good idea to wrap the thread end around your finger twice so it doesn’t just slip right back inside.

 

And wiggle/turn it right side out.

One very important point I will need to remember next time I make tubes, is to make sure to sew it down the middle of the folded strip! My tubes are a bit tightly packed with the seam allowances, and I wasn’t going to trim that skimpy seam!

Next time, I’ll show you the transformed RTW top I bought that was too big!