I’m trying out a few knit top styles at the moment.  I’ve had the Style Arc Molly knit top pattern in stash for a little while, and thought it would be a good one for work.  From the Style Arc website: The clever front detail along with the new banded neck gives this top a new twist on the stylish drape neck that has been a favourite for the past season. Easy to make and wear.

I used the same knit that I recently used for my Darn Cheap Fabrics seasonal challenge.  It sewed up very quickly and easily, with all construction being done on the overlocker.  As per usual hems were stabilised with double sided adhesive tape then top-stitched with a twin needle on the sewing machine.

Sadly I only have photos of it on Ada at the moment. I decided to leave off the little front pleat/twist thing. Suspected that all it would do would be to encourage the fabric to stick to my rolls instead of skim over them. I made size 12, my usual Style Arc top size, and chose the full length sleeve option.

I have worn this top, and was pleased with the fit. Not too loose, not too tight, and I always like a v-shaped neckline on me. The neckline is a cowl, but with a band to finish the edge instead of a facing. It seemed to work okay, with the band providing enough weight for it to drape nicely.  You can just glimpse the top in this outfit I wore to work.

This pattern will definitely get another outing or two.

Ah, the bargain table floral rayon from Darn Cheap.  This is the last of it – and I have to say that I am rather sad to see it all gone.  However, this was a worthy project – a Sewaholic Pendrell top for my cousin Freya.

Last time I made this blouse for Freya I used a less draped cotton. This one seems to have come out slightly larger, despite making the same size 10.

This is such an easy blouse to make. The neckline and armholes are finished with bias binding, there are no closures, no darts, and it just slips on yet still has an element of shape. And those self-lined, pleated sleeves! I love them!

Just a little sewing tip – rayon like this is prone to stretching and shifting and moving around when you sew it. I stabilised the neckline with this knit fusible tape that I bought from Stitch 56 once the top was cut out. Well worth it.

I use stay tapes like this around necklines and along shoulder seams. I don’t use them for everything that I make, but I definitely use them a lot – usually in places where the instructions will say to stay stitch. I use double sided fusible tapes a lot when sewing with knits to secure hems in place. And to finish, a quick snap of the top when Freya was finally able to try it on.

Yes, it would have been a good idea if I’d given her the summer top in the correct season…

This garment came about after I was pulling fabrics out of stash and spotted these two fabrics side by side.

The bugs are a cotton knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics (although I’m sure that I’ve spotted it at Rathdowne Fabrics as well) and the stripe is from Clear It. The two together really appealed to me. So I rummaged through my pattern stash and came up with Vogue 8950.

MISSES’ TUNIC: Semi-fitted, pullover tunic has yokes, side slits and stitched hems. Back is longer than front, wrong side shows. Front, back and sleeves C: cut on crosswise grain.
FABRICS: Two-Way Stretch Knits: Rayon/Spandex, Cotton/Spandex. Also Contrast A, B: Stretch Mesh, Sheer Knits.

This pattern has similar style lines to the Papercut Patterns Ensis tee with the contrast yoke and upper sleeve.  I chose to make view B, the shorter length, and shortened it further still by petite-ing it at the shorten/lengthen here lines.  Without checking the cut pattern I think that I used size 12 but cut size 10 from the armholes up.

Construction was mostly on the overlocker. I used the twin needle on the machine to finish hems and to secure the neckline. Hems were stabilised first with double sided tape. I really wouldn’t want to sew knits without tapes – they make such a difference to the finished product.

I’m still on the fence about the finished garment. It is comfortable to wear and fits well, and I love the two fabrics together, but maybe it’s the tunic thing again. Or maybe it’s just the jeans that I am wearing it with. I’m planning on sewing some Style Arc Misty jeans in indigo stretch denim soon and when I do, this pair of op-shopped Target jeans will be going back to whence they came!

I still have some of both fabrics left, and may give a raglan style a go and see how that works out. I wore this with an orange scarf and a cardigan. I only have a blurry phone photo to share but you get the general idea.

Yes, the more I look at photos of these jeans, the more I think that it’s time to say farewell to them.  As a good friend has been known to say, “Lara, you can do better”.

I have made Butterick 5925 before, but last time sewed view C/D, the v-neck version of the pattern.  This time I tried view A.

The fabric is a vibrant green polyester crepe knit from Spotlight. It has drape that works beautifully in a tunic. No cling, just falls gently. I left off the pockets, because they added another step to construction and wouldn’t really show up as a design element in this solid colour. I don’t tend to use pockets in my clothing – I always carry a bag – so it doesn’t matter if I don’t have them. I can always shove a hanky up my sleeve if needed!

I sewed size Medium and petite-ed the pattern through the body at the shorten/lengthen lines. I could possibly have sewed a Small in this pattern.  Most construction was done on the overlocker, and I used a simple zig zag for hemming. The pattern illustration and description from the website are as follows:
MISSES’ TOP: Pullover top has neckline and pocket variations, seam detail, and shaped hemine. A: slightly draped neck and pocket bands. B: pocket binding. A and B: semi-fitted, stitched hems. C and D: loose-fitting, hem band, and narrow hem. B, C and D: neck binding. Wrong side shows on hemlines, and C and D pocket openings.
Designed for lightweight two-way stretch knits.

The neckband was interesting. After seaming it at the centre back, you fold it in half wrong sides together but rather than having the seam line up you shift one layer around about an inch, then line up and baste the edges together. This gives the neckband that rippled effect.

This top had been in my cut-out box since last year. It was easy and comfortable to wear, in a colour that I love. I realise that I am currently moving away from tunics to shorter tops. I always like a tunic for it’s tummy and waist downplaying properties, but am now enjoying shorter tops for the different take on proportion that they provide. It can be difficult to judge true proportion in my blog photos as it depends a lot on which photographer I’ve had and their height, as well as the distance that the photos are taken from. That’s where the daily snaps in the mirror help – all from a consistent distance and height. I think that I’ll end up with more of a mix of tunics and shorter tops in my wardrobe.