There are some terrific summer pants showing up in the shops this year.  Most are from soft fabrics that drape nicely, are slim in shape but are not fitted, and have elastic waists.  Sounds good to me!  I paired the StyleARC Darcy woven pants pattern with some rayon from Spotlight to make these pants.

Things that I like about this pattern:

• The faced waistband, that allows for an elasticised casing. Much nicer and flatter finish than just turning over the top edge and topstitching down a casing.
• The pretty much invisible side seam pockets – that I actually inserted.  I often skip pockets, but in summer pants they are handy for a hayfever hanky.
• The shaped hemline. These are faced, and sadly I made my pants a little too long and it’s not that easy to shorten them.  They would look much better ending just on my ankle instead of part way down my foot.

I think that they’re a little tight over my rear – that centre back seam looks as though it is going where it shouldn’t! I should possibly deepen the rise of the crotch seam. Will think on that one and pull out my fitting books. I don’t think it will take a look of work to fix in the next version.

So, overall verdict? Very happy with these as a wearable muslin, although I will only be able to wear high heels with them. I did shorten them through the leg just below the knee, but clearly it wasn’t enough. I need to take another inch out of them at least.  I went up to size 12 in this pattern – I usually use size 10 for pants in StyleARC – because I have put on a fair bit of weight this year and the fabric doesn’t have any stretch.  I do like the pattern and will use it again, after shortening it and altering the bottom area at the back.  Actually, I have some printed viscose just waiting to become the next pair!

But before I do that, I want to make up the Lekala pants pattern that I ordered recently, and see how it fits me. Although it will be made to measurements in terms of my overall height, waist and hip measurements, most of my fat is carried on my front, so it’s not distributed evenly around my body. Looking forward to that experiment!

And yes, it’s another wearable muslin!  This time the StyleARC Adele tunic.  Oh, knit tops, you are so quick to sew! From the StyleARC website: This is a great tunic top with an asymmetrical hemline and round neck line, make it with a long sleeve or short sleeve in a knit fabric with stretch.

I used some fabric left over from another project to make this top. To take advantage of the border print I had to cut it on the cross grain. Despite the fabric having stretch in both directions, this was possibly not helpful in getting the top to fit as nicely as it possibly could have if the pieces were cut with most stretch going around the body.

I made this in size 12, but shortened the pattern pieces around an inch through the body on both the front and the back. I’ll possibly take it back to the original length if I make it again. The “short” sleeves are really 3/4 length – these are as per the pattern pieces. I think that the neckline is too high to flatter me. It also tended to pull and ride up a little – a consequence of cutting across the grain of the fabric, I think.  And that grey near my face doesn’t do me any favours.  Although I do have a cold at the moment and am not looking my best anyway.

So overall, meh. However, I will use the pattern again, at the full length, and with more scoop in the neckline.  I think that it could be a good basic, I really like the hemline, and like all the StyleARC patterns I have used it is well drafted and all the pieces fit together just as they should.  But in the meantime, after three “wearable muslins” that I’m probably not going to wear myself, I might just have to pull out a tried and true pattern for some ego reassurance.

Last month’s StyleARC freebie was the Gail top.  Tops (and dresses) with twist features always interest me, and I rather liked the way that this one incorporated the collar.  StyleARC’s description: This cleverly designed knit top has a flattering scarf neck with a bit of a twist. Make it with either a short or long sleeve.

The fabric I used for this wearable muslin was a soft cotton/lycra – possibly also containing viscose – from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 per metre table. The red stripes have run slightly, but it’s not all that noticeable unless you look at them close up.

I did attempt to line up the stripes when I cut it out, not that you can tell. They are so far apart from one another that it was quite difficult. I can assure you that they do match along the side seams and down the sleeve seam, and they are at least symmetrical elsewhere even when they don’t match.

So, on to a review. StyleARC are not renowned for their instructions and this top is definitely a case in point. I found that the instructions for assembling the collar/twist/neckline to be very confusing and to not always correlate with the illustrations. So I essentially used logic and the last diagram in the series, and pinned it all together the way that I thought it should go. And yes, that worked. So basically, my version of the instructions was:

• sew the shoulder seams
• sew the centre back collar seam together
• fold the collar in half lengthwise wrong sides together as far as the notches. Finish the edges between the notches on the left collar by machine (I just folded them to the inside and top stitched). Also finish the left front edge between the notches.
• Pin the collar around the neckline right side together, matching the notches, and sew from the right hand side notches to the left.
• Following the final diagram in the series, lay out the top on a flat surface, pass the right side through the opening in the left, and pin the sections together.
• Sew the angled side front seams first, then the centre front seam.

Then construct the rest of the top as per usual – set in the sleeves, sew up the side seams and sleeve seams in one pass.

As you can see, there is plenty of style ease in this top, especially in the front. I made size 12, my usual StyleARC top size, and it’s roomy.  It also dips down quite a lot at centre front. I should have tried it on before hemming and taken it in more through the centre front seam, and then sliced some of that curve from the hemline. At the moment I feel that the combination of the angle of the stripes and the curved front just make my already significant abdomen look even more obvious. As it is this top would work quite well as a maternity top!  I also think that the shoulders need to be brought in a little to fit me better.

So, the final verdict? I’d like to make this again in a solid fabric, with the modifications described above. I like the height of the back neckline and the front twist, and now that I’ve done it once it wouldn’t be hard to do a second time. This top is most likely going to passed on to a friend, but I don’t think that the pattern has seen it’s last attempt!

By the way, there is a great series about fit taking place over at Sunni’s blog A Fashionable Stitch.  There is quite a lot to think about and digest there.

The lines of Vogue 8881 and the ability to either play with stripes of combine different fabrics appealed to me when it was first released.  Luckily for me it was in the drawer at my local Spotty when patterns went on sale recently.  I gave view C a try, the view with the asymmetrical neckline and hem points, with the full length sleeves from view F.  This top can be made sleeveless or with sleeves of varying lengths.

I sewed this up at size Medium (12-14) with no alterations. The fabric is a lovely viscose knit that was given to me; it had a beautiful light hand and was great to sew. However, like most of my first goes at a pattern, this is really a wearable muslin. I have come to the conclusion that I would rather take the little bit of extra time required on a simple garment like this to make it wearable than to sew up a straight muslin that couldn’t be worn. I have plenty of friends who are happy to take my wearable muslins if they’re not quite right for me.

So, onto changes that this one needs for next time. I am happy enough with the tunic length, and the fit of the sleeves – they are narrow, but not too tight. And I like my long sleeves quite long, as these are.  But I need to bring in the shoulders and I definitely need to raise the neckline and bring it in at the shoulders.

At this stage I plan to take a centre back fold at the top of the back pattern piece, which should bring the shoulders in a little and will also snug the neckline closer to my body. Or else I could just redraw the neckline at the shoulder seams and the armhole, but with my curved upper back I find that altering the centre back has a similar effect in knits. I’ll also infill the front neck pattern piece by about an inch and a half, and will bring in the front neckline at the shoulder seams and adjust the front armhole seams by a similar amount at the top. I will try to remember to photograph the pattern pieces once they are done!

I wasn’t able to match the stripes completely, as the angles where the seams meet aren’t acute enough. They are matched at the side seams, and the sleeve seams are matched too. I really like this pattern, and it will definitely get another outing, but a friend may be the lucky recipient of this version!

I am very late to the party that is the Vogue 1247 top.  This pattern has been extremely popular in the sewing blogosphere, both for the skirt – which I have made twice, by the way – and for the top.

Reviews for the top were quite varied. Most stated that it definitely ran large. I decided to sew up a wearable muslin in some stash fabric. This fabric is actually “vintage” John Kaldor, possibly from the late 80s or the early 90s. It came to me as part of June’s stash. It is fairly sheer but is a crepe, and I have to say that it was absolutely wonderful to sew and surprisingly it was also wonderful to press.  Oh, if only John Kaldor were still manufacturing fabric!

Black is very difficult to photograph effectively, but I think that you can make out the seaming in this photo. I made a straight size 12, without alteration. I did add the sleeve bands, but didn’t turn them up. And rather than french seaming the top as instructed, I used the overlocker. So sue me.

The centre back seam is a straight one, so could really be cut on the fold. However, I know my shape, so I did seam it as instructed and took it in an inch or so at the top of the centre back seam to allow for my rounded upper back. This helped quite a lot with the neckline fit.

I didn’t manage to make all the seams meet at exactly the same point at the centre front, but they are still nicely symmetrical. So for a muslin, that is okay. I did have to add bra strap holders to the shoulder seams. That v-neckline is very wide. If I make this again I’ll bring the neckline in a bit, and possibly also raise it an inch or so. Otherwise, I rather like it! Yes, it’s loose, but there is enough shaping with those centre seams and the bust darts, as well as the tucks on the back and front shoulders, to stop it from being a sack.  And the gently curved hemline is flattering too.

By the way, Aussies (and Kiwis?) should know that Spotlight have just put ALL their paper patterns – including Vogue – on sale for $5 per pattern ($4.50 if you are a Spotlight member). This NEVER happens here in Australia! I have plenty of patterns in my stash, but maybe there are a couple that you need? And maybe today I happened to find myself in Spotlight, and maybe I did need a couple more after all…