I think that the Style Arc Lu Lu Tunic Top may have been the free pattern when I ordered one month. I really do like the Style Arc freebies, and must admit that I often will hold off an order to see what the freebie for the following month is going to be if I’m not all that enamoured with the current month’s offerings. I’m glad that I received this one.

I sewed this in size 12, my usual Style Arc top/dress size, and am pleased with the fit. The pattern drawing and description are as follows: This is gorgeous layered top that is perfect for wearing over your narrow legged pant. It has an interesting darted neckline and a flattering dropped shoulder. Use two different textured fabrics for an on trend look or a beautiful coloured silk will create a total luxe feeling.

After reading other reviews, I decided to eliminate the back opening and button/loop.  This was an easy change to make.  I just seamed the centre back right up to the neckline, and sewed the neckband pieces together at the centre back as well.  Otherwise the construction was fairly straightforward.

I finished the edge of the neck and sleeve facing pieces on the overlocker, and stitched them flat in the ditch from the right side rather than turning them inwards. This has kept the bands sitting flat, and eliminated the need to hand-sew the facings in place. The fabric is from Darn Cheap Fabrics. It’s a textured woven, linen mixed possibly with some cotton and maybe a little metal? Creases didn’t iron out easily. I haven’t worn this yet other than for the photos, and it did feel a little itchy next to my skin, which might be the metallic component. We’ll see!  Otherwise it was quite good to work with.

I was a little uncertain about how to attach the bottom pieces to the top to make the fold at first, but when I slowed myself down and read the instructions a few times it worked out quite well. The diagrams were particularly helpful. I really like the wide hems on this top, and the pattern piece is drafted so that the corners mitre beautifully. A lovely feature.

The tunic also coordinates well with the Style Arc Lola pants that I made for SWAP – because it is also one of my original planned SWAP garments! I’m glad that I followed through with this one.

You’d pretty much forgotten about my SWAP plans, hadn’t you?  Because it certainly appeared as though I had!  Although I missed the SWAP deadline by many, many months I am still making some of the garments that were part of it.  These ones were actually sewn many, many months ago but I was slow getting photos.

The top is Vogue 8805, sewn in a ponte and shortened. I was using a remnant piece of fabric (I can’t even remember where from!) and it took considerable juggling to get the pattern pieces out of the small amount that I had. I decided to bind the neckline and sleeve hems rather than simply turning or facing. The neckline was also scooped lower than the pattern. The shaping of this top works well for me.

I completely eliminated the centre back opening – I don’t need to use it to get this on or off. There is plenty of ease through the back, which makes it super comfortable to wear.

There is not much to say about the skirt – it’s the Style Arc Fay skirt, but unlined as once again I was working with a small amount of fabric. The fabric is a floral textured jacquard knit from Tessuti. Side seams, elastic in the waist, hem turned once and sewn in place.

I also made a third item to wear with this top and skirt, a Style Arc Floating Fran cardi (actually a vest).

I used fabric from the Darn Cheap Fabrics $2 per metre table for this one. It’s quite sheer, and is a knit, but doesn’t actually have a great deal of stretch. And as it turns out, every time I put the vest on I take it off again. In this fabric it’s just that bit too firm around the bust. And the colour isn’t quite “me”.  So it’s been donated.

Despite that I do like the flare and the overall shape and fit – it just needed a softer and stretchier knit. I did shorten it throughout the body to accommodate my height, and it’s still quite long at the back. The fronts are faced, and the armholes are bound. Because of the flare it takes quite a lot of fabric. I’ll definitely use this pattern again.

So, I still have two pieces of the three in this SWAP 3-pack.

So, who has made a Colette Mabel skirt?  Come on,hands up!  I jumped on that bandwagon, because I am always a sucker for a simple straight stretch fabric skirt.  Although I already own and love the Style Arc Fay skirt (which is self-lined and has a simple elastic waist) I decided that the Mabel skirt was different enough that purchase was justifiable.  There are three versions and a separate faced waistband.

Now, this is my wearable muslin. I chose to make view 3, which is the longer length with side front panels and centre back kick pleat. I made this in size M hips, grading up to an XL waist. This worked with my measurements but actually made the waistband too big. It’s comfy, but there really isn’t much negative ease there at all.

The fabric was leftovers from a previous project, and was from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I decided to do all the top-stitching in lime green with a twin needle. This highlighted all of the seam lines very nicely. The rest of the construction was on the overlocker. I used the same fabric for the waistband and the waistband lining.

I am only 158cm (5’2″) tall, and this is the longest length offered by this pattern and it is right on my knee. Be warned! Also, remember that it is drafted with negative ease – it is meant to be fitted and cling to your curves. There isn’t any elastic in the waistband – although you could add it if you wanted extra security) – but that shouldn’t really be a problem. However, I did find that when I was crawling up on Clare’s bunk bed changing the sheets that the skirt pulled down to my knees very quickly! The next time that I made the skirt (yes, there has been a second time and a third is all cut out) I made size M through the hips again but only drafted up to a L for the waist. It’s a much better fit and feels more secure through my waist. That said, I’ll probably just sew it in a M from now on, in line with my hip measurement.

As an aside, who else read the terrific discussion of loving your belly over on Polka Dot Overload the other day? So much to think about with that. Maybe this skirt is one step closer for me to love my belly! In the meantime, I’ll always wear this skirt with a top over it, not tucked in like the photo above. And possibly with a jacket over it like this one, Vogue 8819.

As you know, I really do like to wear knit jackets. This was planned as part of my SWAP sewing (speaking of which, the deadline for completion has passed and I haven’t finished. A blog post for another day). The fabric came to me courtesy of Tanya’s stash – thanks Tan! It is an interesting black/green knit with a whole lot of gold running through it as well. Shiny! Gittery! Stretchy!

I sewed up view B in size Medium, only making petite alterations to shorten it through the body. I had read that others reduced the amount of flare, but that was one of the elements that attracted me to the pattern. It really does cry out to be sewn in a stripe to take advantage of the bias panels and seaming, but I still like the effect of the intersecting grain lines anyway.

The original pattern doesn’t have a closure, but I felt that it really did need one. I didn’t want to work a buttonhole in the bulk of the intersecting knit seams, so added a single button with a loop made from hat elastic. It works well. The back neckline of the jacket stands away from the neck a little in wearing, and the biceps area of the sleeves is a fraction tight. Otherwise, it’s very wearable.  Most construction was on the overlocker, but I used a twin needle to secure the hems and facings.  The stitches disappear right into that fabric – thank goodness there was no unpicking required.

I keep getting distracted from my SWAP sewing by other projects.  Fickle!  These are the last couple of items that I made before switching to a couple of as-yet-unblogged non-SWAP items.

These are the StyleARC Lola pants – the third pair that I’ve made – and the Simple Tunic from the book Bold & Beautiful Easy-Sew Clothes. Are you like me and every time you see/hear “Bold & Beautiful” you immediately think of Brooke, Ridge, Eric et al? Anyway, first to the pants.

These are exactly the same as my previous two makes. I included the pockets, but left out the pocket zips. There is elastic in the back hem edge, and I shortened the pants in two places, one above and one below the knee, which took around 3 inches total from the length. I am 158cm tall (5’2″) and this is my typical adjustment for StyleARC pants patterns.

The fabric is woven viscose from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and is navy with a rusty/tan print that I have found extremely difficult to colour match. I was originally hoping to make Vogue 8791 or the StyleARC Dotty blouse from a matching solid, but didn’t find one. So my plan changed. For reference, this is my original 3-pack #1 plan.

So now instead of the Vogue or StyleARC top, I have made the Simple Tunic. The fabric is a cross-woven linen from Spotlight. Although it’s not an exact colour match to the print in the pants, it still coordinates and was already in my stash.

I pounced upon this book the moment I came across it.  It contains the patterns and instructions for a number of loose, linen clothes, many in styles that I like to wear.  There is an accompanying CD with the patterns on it, so you can print them at home onto A4 pages and tape them together.  Or you can do what I have done for some of them and take them to a plan printer (although it still works out to around $10 per pattern to have the large ones printed – they are not laid out in a very cost-effective way).  I decided to start with the Simple Tunic to get an idea of sizing and fit.  As it turns out, I am the smallest size in all of these designs, and they go up to much, much larger sizes than me.  These are some of the other designs – there are plenty in the book.

I did print and tape this pattern together, as it wasn’t too many pieces. I made the smallest size without any alterations, and think that it fits just as it should. Roomy and slouchy, but not as though it is simply too big.

Although it is simple, the side slits and curved front and back are a lovely touch. The curves don’t go right to the edge of the side slits, so they are quite straightforward to make and give an interesting hemline. The neckline is faced. Normally I would use bias binding around a neckline like this, but wanted to try the pattern as intended. I think that for many people the front hemline would be a fraction short, but the proportions work well with the Lola pant.

So, that’s two SWAP items finished, photographed and blogged. There are actually another two items from 3-pack #3 finished; a top and a vest. And there is a skirt cut out that will replace one of the skirts I’d planned for 3-pack #2 or #3. Clearly this is an evolving SWAP!