This is a blog post about garments that aren’t quite right.  Incredibly close to right, but that teensy bit off!  In one case it’s due to my fabric choice.  In the other case, the size that I chose to sew.

I’ve actually seen the Rae tunic pop up quite a lot in my feed reader and on Instagram. As Style Arc say:  The curved hemline and the, so popular, split sleeve give this great tunic top an easy, casual look. Simple to make with an all in one sleeve and body, this tunic will become your go to top to wear for all occasions. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Crepe, Silk or even a Knit.

I chose to use a cotton/lycra knit.  It’s a beautiful quality fabric from Crafty Mamas Fabrics, and I adore the print.  Unfortunately, it really isn’t quite a drapey as I’d like.  A knit with some viscose in it would have been a much better choice.

I eliminated the centre back opening, cut the back piece on the fold, and used one strip of fabric as a neckline facing. This fabric was very easy to work with, and this really did come together incredibly quickly. I like that the upper arm openings are relatively subtle, and allow for wearing a regular bra. It’s a simple pattern, but as is usually the case with Style Arc, very well drafted.

I sewed straight size 12 without alteration. It’s definitely tunic length, with deeply rounded hemlines. I think that it would be wonderful lengthened to a dress. So this top wasn’t a fail for me, but wasn’t a woo-hoo make either. I’ve been wearing it, but it really deserves to be remade in one of the recommended fabrics.

So, to the jeans. I’ve been wanting a pair of white/cream denim jeans for ages. Back in the 1990s I had a pair of white Levi 501s. I wore them until they pretty much died – at which time I turned them into a skirt. Remember doing that? Unpicking the inseams, overlapping, adding a bit of extra from what you’d cut off the lower leg to the centre to fill in the gap? I’m sure that nowadays there are plenty of tutorials around to let you know what to do. Oh, I remember that skirt well – I trimmed the hemline with some amazing pink blue and white vintage jumbo ric rac. I wonder if it’s in landfill now or if someone is rocking a very retro look?

Style Arc describe the Georgie stretch woven jeans as follows: GEORGIE STRETCH WOVEN JEAN: Georgie has all the details of a traditional jean with the exception that its pulls on. This elastic waisted jean has the latest styling and shape along with comfort as it sits on the natural waist. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Stretch Bengaline or any stretch woven fabric.

Because I’ve put on so much weight I decided to go up a size from my usual Style Arc 10 to a 12. In retrospect, I could have stayed with the 10. These are that leetle bit too big.  Not enough to stop me wearing them – and I’ve been wearing them quite a bit – but just that little bit that means I need to hitch them up a bit from time to time.

There is also way more fabric in the back of the leg than I need. My weight gains tend to go straight to my belly and midriff. Although I still do get a little larger around the bum and hips, it’s proportionately much less, and from the thighs down I never seem to change all that much. This pair could have done with a short back waist length alteration and a flat bum adjustment.  The denim (from M.Recht) has plenty of stretch, as does the recommended bengaline fabric, so I could have stayed with the size 10 and just altered the waist elastic to suit and let the elastane in the fabric look after lots of the rest of the fit. I have another pair cut out in leather-look bengaline and will increase the size of the seam allowances when I sew it in order to make that pair a bit smaller overall.

I enjoyed sewing these, and did the topstitching with a triple stitch using regular thread. Lots of the rest of construction was on the overlocker. This pattern is basically the pants version of the Style Arc Charlie skirt, which I’ve blogged before here.  I’ll still get plenty of wear from these jeans, because they are comfortable, and I’ll always tops out over them.