I wonder if I’ll get my winter sewing blogged before summer truly hits?  I’ve sewn the Style Arc Balmain knit tunic twice now.  The first time was back at the beginning of July.

I sewed straight size 12. Note for future reference – shorten the sleeves before sewing! The fabric is from Clear It. It was super cheap, so I thought good for a wearable muslin. However, I really do not know what the composition is, other than there is lots of something plasticy in there judging from the smell when an iron comes near it. Ew.  It’s quite soft, not very thick, and has some little soft fibres that make it slightly ‘hairy’.

This pattern does have a few very lovely features – that inset cowl! The front and back yoke seaming! There are actually very few pieces, and construction is fast. From the Style Arc website: Luxe, loose and easy to wear, this is a chic tunic that will instantly elevate any look. This tunic has a deep “V” with a cowl collar insert and an interesting sleeve that extends into a saddle shoulder. The gentle hi-low hemline adds style to this fabulous tunic. FABRIC SUGGESTION Sweater knit, light ponte, lurex knit or any knit that will allow the cowl to drape.

Construction is shared between the overlocker and the sewing machine, because the machine is needed to topstitch alongside those fabulous seam lines.  You also need the machine to sew in the cowl, so that you can pivot at the front point.

The next version that I sewed a few weeks ago was in a lightweight french terry, also from Clear It. This fabric had a good amount of drape and was very easy to sew with. It had the added bonus of not smelling like plastic when it was ironed!

It’s actually hard to tell just what colour this top is. It walks the line between blue and purple (with a tiny bit of grey thrown in), leaning more heavily to blue. I’ve got a bit left (it was also a bargain price) which might become something for one of my daughters.  As you can see in the photo, I forgot to shorten the sleeves – again!  Maybe now that I’ve blogged it I’ll remember in future!  I don’t think that I’m done with this pattern.