A couple of old patterns with a newer one! I’ve mentioned before that I like to sew entire outfits, where possible. Less wardrobe orphans that way!

So, let’s start at the bottom – which is the newest of these patterns. The pants are the Style Arc Parker Ponte Pant. They actually sold these in a bundle with a top and coat pattern. I purchased the whole bundle, but haven’t sewn up the top or coat yet.

From the Style Arc website: You will love the simplicity of this new ponte pant shape. This style features an elastic waist and a straight cuffed leg which sits on the ankle. Trendy, comfortable and an easy sew.

This pattern is designed for ponte, and that’s what I used. This is a beautiful quality navy ponte that came to me from a generous friend. Ponte is one of those fabric that varies wildly in quality. In general I try to buy ponte that doesn’t contain polyester. I find that poly ponte pills extremely quickly and just doesn’t wear well. This ponte is divine – I’m not sure of the fibre composition, but it’s beautiful to sew, wear and washes well too!

I generally sew size 10 in Style Arc pants, but since I got larger I am experimenting with sewing size 12 pants instead. These are size 12, with the legs shortened about an inch and half by taking a fold out. I think that this pattern had a handy lengthen/shorten line on it. Otherwise I sewed them without alteration, mostly on the overlocker. Only the angled upper front detail needed the sewing machine.

The waistband is nice and wide, with wide elastic inside it. These pants are super comfortable to wear. I’ve decided to try sewing another pair in stretch corduroy – we’ll see how that goes!

So, to the striped tee. The pattern for this one is the SBCC Tonic Two. I think – but am not certain – that I cut the neckline a bit lower, using another pattern as a guide. I’m very pleased with the finished depth for a long sleeved tee – not too high, not too low.

This fabric is absolutely scrumptious to wear. It’s a viscose/spandex knit that I picked up at Super Cheap Fabrics. It’s incredibly soft next to the skin. I did make sure to match the stripes when cutting and sewing – a pin in each stripe, then straight to the overlocker. Just don’t forget to pull those pins out before the fabric gets to the blade!

My young photographers don’t always tell me when my clothes are caught up on my bum. Size wise, I think that I blended between sizes with this one, cutting the shoulders a size smaller than the bust and removing the waist shaping. The Tonic 2 tee is a free pattern by the way, as is the sister pattern Tonic that has short sleeves and a lower neckline. From the website: The Tonic 2 T-shirt is your new go to layering piece. If you loved the Tonic Tshirt, this is the next step up. The Tonic 2 has the same great fit but with updated details. This is a perfect transitional piece for your wardrobe in between seasons as you layer it or wear it alone. The Tonic 2 features a long, slim sleeve, and a crew neckline. Also, the body length is hip level for petites, but the good news is this will also work for regular height gals as well. Make the Tonic 2 out of any two way stretch jersey in solid or that fancy print you have been saving.

SBCC patterns are designed for short people, so I really should pull this pattern out more often! The armhole depth on this tee works really nicely for me. The patterns also cover a significant size range.

So last, but definitely not least, we come to the Style Arc Laura knit cardi. This pattern is one of the first Style Arc patterns that I ever bought and sewed. From the website: This simple shawl collar cardi is suitable for a knit drapable fabric. FABRIC SUGGESTION & DESCRIPTION Any knit fabric with plenty of stretch.

The fabric that I used is fairly open and loosely knitted. Definitely a fabric that benefitted from the overlocker! What is missing from the line drawing is the centre back seam in the ‘hood’. From experience I know to sew that seam WRONG sides together – as when the cardi is worn the inside of the ‘hood’/collar is exposed. So that’s what I did – sewed it wrong sides together on the overlocker, then pressed it gently to one side and stitched it down on the machine, a bit like a flat felled seam. The rest of the construction was on the overlocker. This is a very quick cardi to sew.

The instructions suggest that the edges are finished with a rolled edge on the overlocker. I decided to turn a 1cm hem over twice and secure it with a zig-zag stitch on the sewing machine instead, which gave me a really neat edge that also added a nice amount of weight to the bottom of the cardi. I made sure that the zig-zag was right along the fold, especially important as this fabric is pretty sheer.

This isn’t a warm winter cardi, but one that will provide that little bit extra when needed throughout much of the year. I find that the Laura cardi is a great pattern for knits that are a bit more difficult to handle – there are minimal seams, and because the edge finishing is simple – no bands etc – it’s not hard to get an effective result.

Over month between blog posts.  That was unintended.  Most of us go silent when life is full-on – either in good ways or in bad ways.  The last couple of months have been particularly intense for me, both with good things and with others that have been and will continue to be extremely challenging.  That is what life is, I think.  It’s full of ups and downs, and they can all coincide.  The older I get – and YES! I turned fifty a couple of weeks ago! – the more that I realise that life is complicated, it’s often very difficult, and it has moments of joy and delight.  Overall I am very fortunate, I know that.  It’s so important to make sure that those people that are important to you know that they are important, and why.  And while planning for the future, don’t forget to make the most of now. Because really, now is what we have.

I sewed this up a couple of months ago – yes, I am that far behind with blogging. Oh for the days when I would sew something and get it photographed and blogged pretty much immediately! The pattern is the Love Notions Canyon Cardigan.  From the website: The Canyon Cardigan is a great, transitional piece for your wardrobe. Three views are included; the skirt portion of the cardigan can be changed while the bodice stays the same. This cardigan is a more fitted style perfect for light layering with subtle shaping at the waist and center back. The three views included: a-line, gathered, and waterfall. All three are meant for stretch fabrics. Three sleeve lengths are included as well: vest, 3/4, and long. Also included are optional pockets and elbow patches.

I have a couple of cardigan patterns that I really love and have sewn multiple times – the Style Arc Simone and Style Arc Coral – but every now and then it’s nice to add something slightly different to the mix.  I chose to sew the long sleeved cardigan with the A-line body.  I left out the pockets.

The fabric came from Super Cheap Fabrics. It’s a knit, with textured self-stripes. Looked at close up it appears to be two layers, with the top layer folded into the self-stripes of different widths that are held in place by the lower layer. I’d love to see the machines in operation constructing this! It’s quite spongy and thick, and is probably highly polyester in fibre content.

I sewed size Large, which was definitely a size too big for me. I’m still figuring out what sizes work best on my fatter-than-it-used-to-be shape. One of the things that I love about Love Notions patterns is that they show many, many sample garments on all sorts of shapes and sizes. It’s helpful to see how they fit and drape on different people. I need to choose the size of my tops mostly on upper bust and shoulder width, and make sure that they are styles that will accommodate my mid-section (or grade them up through the stomach). The shoulder width on the Large is much wider than I need.  I recently has a three dimensional body scan done, and will share my learnings from that with you later in a future blog post. It’s really helpful to properly look at yourself when you’re a sewer!

There aren’t many pieces to this cardigan, and I doubt that I paid much attention to the instructions. Construction was primarily on the overlocker, with the sewing machine used for the twin-needled hems.  I did need to shorten the sleeves quite a bit – and my arms aren’t especially short – but otherwise I didn’t make any changes. I think that it’s a nice style with a few interesting options, and well worth adding to my pattern arsenal, although I’d sew a smaller size in the future.