These are both repeat pattern makes.  I first sewed the Hot Patterns Trilogy top for Mum here, and the Style Arc Peta pants here, so I knew that it would be pretty safe to sew both of them for her as a Christmas gift.

I’ll start with the top! I sewed size 14, as before, and used all the same techniques. The fabric was from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 table. It feels to be a viscose of some type, and it has just the right flow and drape to make this lovely to wear.  From the Hot Patterns website: Semi-fitted, pull-on styles have a gently shaped silhouette, with center front & back seams. ‘V’neckline and cut-on cap sleeves are finished with self fabric binding. Choose your perfect length; a midi-length dress, a mid-thigh tunic, or a lower-hiplength top. All versions feature a deep pleat folded into the front yoke for that essential bust shaping, plus a curved front and straight back hemline.

I apply the bindings to the wrong side, then wrap them around to the right side and topstitch them in place. It’s like binding a quilt, really! It means that the outside of the garment always looks neat, as you can ensure that the topstitching is just where you want it to be.

This is a lovely style on Mum, and I’ve noticed that she wears the other one that I made last year fairly often as well. The pants are also a terrific wardrobe staple.  From the Style Arc website: PETA PANT: This elastic waist pant is a great new staple – make it with or without drawstring bottoms, its easy to wear and you will find it a great young fit that is still comfortable. FABRIC SUGGESTION & DESCRIPTION: Washed linen, washed silk – any woven that has drape.

This beautiful black Italian linen comes from The Cloth Shop in Ivanhoe. As before, I sewed them in size 18, shortening the pattern around three inches in total with a fold out of the pattern both above and below the knee. I’d left that alteration on the pattern pieces the last time I sewed these, so didn’t even need to take the time to do it all again!

Mum is around my height nowadays – somewhere between 5’2″ and 5’3″ – so the same height alterations work for both of us. Interestingly, I measured Clare yesterday and she’s now only an inch and a half or so behind us – although her shoulders are lower than that – I think that she might end up taller than me after all!