What a beautiful response to Clare’s artwork!  And wouldn’t you know it, she has now completed a number of drawings in a similar vein – and Stella has done some of her own too, very keen “to have them put onto fabric”.  So it looks as though I’ll be getting familiar with Spoonflower this weekend!

There has been some selfish sewing going on lately too.  I’ve had a knit fabrics binge.  One of the tops that I made was the StyleARC Sunny.  From their website: This is a new shape for a knit top. The oversized look becomes very flattering because of pattern drafting and the cocoon shape which is the new on trend look. Try it, you will love it!!

Now, as many of you know I love a top without waist definition – mostly because I don’t really have a waist.  Some of my clothes can give the illusion of a waist, but overall I feel the most comfortable in clothing that doesn’t fit closely to my middle.  So I knew that I would love this pattern.

And yes, I do love it. This is size 12, with no alterations. It took me quite a while to figure out how to arrange the pattern pieces on the placement print.  The fabric came from Super Cheap Fabrics in Sydney Road, Brunswick, for $3 per metre.  Score!

The knit fabric is fairly lightweight but is super soft and super stretchy. The sleeves are very slim, so this pattern really does need fabric with plenty of stretch to make them comfortable. I think that they need to be fairly slim to balance out the shape of the bodice.

It’s definitely a style that needs to be balanced with a slim lower half. My pants are StyleARC Elle pants, made in a stretch woven some time last year. I finished the hems and the neckband on my sewing machine with a twin needle, but the rest of the construction was on the overlocker.

I did made an effort to cut the neckband from the print – the background beige-grey is not very flattering near my face. I can already tell that this top will get a great deal of wear as it gets cooler. I might even make another one!