A couple of weeks ago the Fashion Challenge group on Facebook had “make an outfit for a WAHM who has skype calls with clients”.  I had already begun making Vogue 8817 from some leftover stash fabric, and the challenge was the perfect impetus to finish it.

This has been quite a popular pattern (nineteen reviews on Pattern Review at the moment) and I thought that it would be a perfect way to use up large fabric scraps. The printed viscose knit was leftover from my second Tiramisu dress, and I’m so pleased that I found such a good pattern to use the scraps. There was barely anything left after cutting out this top! The grey viscose is from a large piece in stash, and the pink stripe knit has also been used before.

I made view D in size 12, but shortened the top at the shorten/lengthen lines by taking a fold of about 5/8″ (so effectively shortening 1 1/4″ in total). I used the print fabric for the neckband. The neckband was sewn to the right side of the fabric, then folded to the inside enclosing the seam allowances and stitched in the ditch from the right side. It sits very nicely in this fabric. Other seams were pressed towards the grey fabric and topstitched on the grey side.  On the pattern envelope model the sleeves are 3/4 length.  On me they are 7/8 length – almost long sleeves!  Hems were stitched with a twin needle after securing with vliesofix.

I also made the black ponte Elle pants you saw in a previous post to coordinate with the top (and many other items in my wardrobe). And I won the challenge for that week!

There’s nothing quite like the challenge of a pattern cover that says “sew it in less than one hour”.  A couple of hours before I was due to leave for a dinner date with some other sewing bloggers a few weeks ago, I decided it was time to put that claim to the test.  I grabbed the StyleARC Marita dress pattern and some Darn Cheap Fabrics $2-per-metre-table stretch crepe (possibly polyester) from stash, and got to work.

Well, did I get it made in less than one hour? No – it took me about one hour and fifteen minutes, from cutting out to completely finished. However, the pattern cover does say “sew it” – so I suppose that doesn’t include the cutting out time. Which isn’t much – there is a front, back, sleeve and back neck. Very straightforward! Because I’ve made this dress before, I remembered that it was fairly snug through the body on me. This time I cut it out about a size larger through the body, which was an improvement. I also extended the depth of the cowl at the centre front to stop it flipping out or showing, which I think was was also an improvement.

Since this fabric is a little heavier weight than the one I used for my previous make, the cowl folds a little rather than drapes. That could be partly due to the extra cowl facing depth as well. The back neckline hugs the back of the neck beautifully and finishes the neckline nicely. And that twist at the front is super easy to do.

Fitwise at the back, it’s not as tight as last time, but could probably have benefitted from shortening the back thorough the waist – a short waist adjustment. It also looks a little wide across the back shoulders, which I cut exactly as per the size 12 pattern.  Hmmm.  Hems are finished with a twin needle after securing with vliesofix.

Overall verdict? This is a colour that really suits me, in a style that looks terrific with a jacket or cardigan, in a comfortable and relatively forgiving stretch fabric. I reckon that with some more tweaks the Marita could easily be a winter version of Vogue 1250. And the sewing time probably is less than an hour – although I’d allow one and a half hours from go to whoa.

Back to another pattern I’ve used before, the StyleARC Polly pattern.  I cut this out exactly the same as the last one, in size 12.  However, this time I used single layer fabric, a very drapey viscose I suspect.  I can’t remember where this fabric came from!

Once again, I think that this is a flattering style for me. V-necklines are usually good, although in this version it is lower than the previous one. Not too low, but not too far off too low! I really like the pleated neckline treatment, and it’s actually very simple to do with some tucks and gathers. The rest of the neckline is bound.

Hems were all finished with a simple medium zig-zag. I felt that in this thin and drapey fabric a zig-zag would give a flatter finish than a twin needle, which would possibly have ridged too much between the two lines of stitching. I did stabilise the fabric first with Vliesofix, but it has left the hemline a little bit wavy. Despite it being a very lightweight fusible tape, this fabric really does show every little lump and bump, and doesn’t just “flow” at the hemline but waves a bi. A little disappointing, but not a deal-breaker.

I was surprised to discover that the sleeves were much longer this time than last, despite having used exactly the same pattern pieces to cut it out. It shows what a difference fabric type and composition can make! Rather than shorten them by cutting and re-hemming, I decided to gather them up a little with elastic.

I very simply zig-zagged the elastic along the seam while stretching it to its fullest extent. I think that it has worked nicely and adds an attractive detail.

This is an outfit that I feel really good in. Hooray again for StyleARC!  (And for Elk Accessories warehouse sales – if you are wondering where the necklace is from).

I’ve put on quite a bit of weight over the past year. So much so that many of my pants are not comfortable any more. Much too much muffin top!  Of course, I could try losing weight, but instead, I made new pants. I turned to my tried and true slim leg elastic waisted pants pattern, the StyleARC Elle. And made them in grey ponte.

This is Japanese Ponte from Spotlight. It is their “premium” ponte. Only time will tell in that regard – we’ll see how well they wash. They are a rayon/poly/spandex blend, so I am fairly hopeful. It is a good bottom weight thickness. I made size 10, as always, assuming that the stretch in the ponte would deal with any fitting issues in what really sit somewhere between leggings and tracksuit pants.

All good so far (despite those back leg wrinkles). I have pretty much figured this pattern out for me now. It has been shortened in two places, one above the knee and one below, in order to keep the shaping right as I make them the right length for my lack of height. I used a twin needle for the hems and around the waistband seam. The crotch depth is just perfect for me in these pants, and they are cut with the back nicely higher than the front and the back leg wider than the front leg. Success in ponte – my previous makes were in stretch woven. So I made them again in black ponte.

And I’ve also made them AGAIN in dark chocolate brown ponte, but I don’t have a photo of that pair. Think exactly the same as the other two pairs, only dark brown. These are super fast to make – less than an hour, including cutting time – and work really well with my wardrobe of long tops and tunics. I wore them a lot on our holiday, and they were comfortable and warm, and easy to wash and dry. Definitely a TNT pattern for me.