Hello there!  First week of work and school almost done and dusted, hooray!  It’s been a very busy start to the year, but all is going smoothly.  So, onto more garments!

This is the Style Arc Maris top.  I strongly suspect that it is named after the wonderful sewing instructor and blogger Maris Olsen.

Style Arc describe this as follows: This top has an interesting front hem panel that continues to the back giving a fabulous silhouette.  Use your own creative flare, mixing fabrics or colours for your own individual look.  We made our sample in Linen but would also work in a knit as well.  FABRIC SUGGESTION: Crepe, Silk, Georgette, knit

I used cotton/linen from Darn Cheap Fabrics for my top, making the most of the scraps that remained after cutting out my orange Annie dress and a red one for my cousin.  Because I was using scraps I had to piece the front of the centre panel.  I chose to topstitch either side of the joining seam as a feature, and I then repeated the topstitching beside all other seamlines except for the side seams.

I chose to cut wide bias binding so that I could completely bind the neckline and the sleeve hems. It was rather fun playing with the alternating orange and red colours. The stitching is all in red, and primarily done on the orange fabric. I know it’s a subtle detail, and it’s more difficult to see in photographs than in reality, but it’s one that I think really adds to the top.

I sewed this in straight size 12, without any alterations. Assembly was fairly fast and straightforward, and I pretty much followed the instructions for the order of construction. The hemline is double folded and topstitched.

The shaping of that bottom panel is really interesting, and I really like the way that it hangs in wear.

Style Arc are currently trying a new option for their pdf patterns, instead of via Etsy.  This new platform allows an affiliate program, which Style Arc have invited me to join.  Anyone who has followed my blog for a while knows that I really enjoy their patterns, and blog about them and review them honestly.  Now I’ll get a bit of a financial benefit if you buy the pdf patterns through links on my blog (which will probably go straight to buying more Style Arc patterns).

The Maris top pdf is available for purchase here – and if you use the code thornberry20 you will get 20% off the price.  Everybody loves a discount!  Of course, if you want the hard copy pattern (which is what I used for my top) you can order it from their website, and the Etsy option is currently still available.  It’s up to you whether you use my links or not!

This pattern will definitely get another whirl.  Obviously it really lends itself to colour blocking, but I’d also like to try mixing knits and wovens, or try an all knit version.  This pattern is definitely a winner for me.