I also took the opportunity before our Queensland holiday to sew up a few new garments for myself.  Style Arc don’t appear to stick to any particular season when they release patterns, it seems to me – which makes sense considering they are selling internationally – and the Daphne Duo Tunic and Daphne Duo Pant had been recent purchases.  It was nice to have the opportunity to sew them shortly after release instead of having to wait until the Victorian weather warmed up!

So, how about I describe each piece at a time? I’ll start with the Daphne Duo Tunic. This is the description from the Style Arc website:  DAPHNE DUO TUNIC: A tunic pattern that is simple but the interesting hem tucks gives this overtop the new cocoon shape. Oversized but flattering it is perfect with our Daphne Duo Pant. It can be worn casually or add a necklace or scarf for a great special occasion look.  FABRIC SUGGESTION: Crepe, linen, any soft woven.

I’ve had this lovely madras check in stash for some time – I am fairly sure that it came from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 table. It seemed to me to be a perfect match for this pattern. Now, this pattern is as simple as it appears to be. One back pattern piece, one front pattern piece, bias cut bindings for the neckline and the hemline.

Despite the simplicity of the pattern, it is given a lovely “cocoon” shape through the use of tucks at the front and back hemline. As always, I take my time when doing these, refer to the instructions and to my own common sense. They were fairly simple to make.

I rather like an inside binding as a way to finish neckline, and around hemlines. The bias provides the flexibility to get a nice smooth finish, and sews nicely to curves. The topstitching looks good on this top too. Overall, it’s a win!

The check is yarn-dyed, not printed. I much prefer a yarn dyed check – not only does it mean that the pattern goes precisely along the grainline, it gives more opportunities for using both sides of the fabric. I still have some of this left in stash, and think that it’s quite likely to resurface again this summer.

The Daphne Duo pants were designed to go along with the tunic. The website description is as follows: DAPHNE DUO PANT: A pant that is a perfect partner to our Daphne Duo Tunic. The side seam ankle tucks gives the legs an interesting shape and sets it apart from a regular elastic waist pull on pant.  Using a stretch woven fabric for the back waistband allows this pant to sit on the waist without bulk across the hip.  You will enjoy wearing this fashionable yet comfortable pant.  FABRIC SUGGESTION: Crepe, silk, woven that drapes.  Stretch woven (we used Bengaline with 30% stretch) for the back waistband.

There is still elastic in the waistband, which provides it with a bit of extra structure and support.  I sewed my pants in a cross-woven linen from Spotlight that has also been sitting in stash for a while.  The threads in one direction are brown, and in the other direction they are black.  The stretch fabric used for the side and back waistband is Style Arc bengaline, found among my scraps.

I sewed these as a straight size 12. I should have shortened the leg length a little at around knee height. They are wearable as they are, but the leg tucks would be better positioned that way. I could probably have got away with my usual Style Arc size 10 pants sizing.

These pants were terrific to wear, and fast to construct. Once again, there will be repeats of this pattern sewn. The top and pants do work together very nicely, and are comfortable on my thick-middled shape. Another Style Arc win!