Another non-seasonal garment; another True Bias Sutton blouse!  This is my third go at this pattern.  The first was for my Mum, and the second was intended as a wearable muslin for me.  I only wore it once then passed it on to a relative as I found that the fabric I’d made it from stuck to me too much.  This time I sewed it in a reptilian-like print from Tessuti.  It’s a silk remnant, and feels lovely against my skin.

Once again I sewed size 6, and I’m happy with the fit. I took my time in construction, following every step of the instructions instead of my usual “glance then toss them aside” approach. It was rather enjoyable to basically let someone else tell me what to do. I sewed it exactly as I’d been told, french seams and all. The only slight deviation was to stabilise the neckline with fusible tape rather than with stay stitching.

I had pre-washed the silk in the machine, figuring that I should start as I intended to continue, and found it surprisingly easy to sew. The fabric has a slightly textured feel to it, rather than being slippery, and although it is light and luscious against the skin it pinned easily and was straightforward to cut out and to stitch.

The pants are the Style Arc Wendy pant, sewn in stretch bengaline also from Style Arc. I bought the pants and pattern together in a kit; they run special offers like that from time to time. I sewed size 10, making my usual length alterations.

You really can’t tell much about how pants fit when they are sewn in black, can you! Here is the pattern drawing and description from Style Arc’s website.

A great pull-on pant featuring a wide waist band with false opening, these full length pants are a must have wardrobe staple piece

These are a nice option if you want to avoid an elasticised waist.  I’m not sure that they would be easy to get on and off if you have a large waist/hip measurement discrepancy.  My hip and waist measurements are pretty close to one another, and I still had to do a little wriggling in and out.  There is no fly; rather the wide waistband undoes and does up with velcro.  I’ll probably stick with my usual Linda or Barb pants for work, but these would be a great alternative for lots of people.

Unfortunately my photographer didn’t spot that the hem of one leg was caught up on my shoe – and neither did I! I suspect that this isn’t the last time I’ll use the Sutton blouse pattern – although I do have the very similar Hot Patterns Trilogy pattern waiting to be sewn dress length for Bali first.