Only a couple more posts of last year’s sewing to go!  Phew!  This Style Arc Bonnie woven skirt was an unseasonal sew, made back in October 2020.

I don’t actually wear summer skirts all that often; I tend to wear dresses when the weather warms up, or lightweight pants that keep the sun off my legs.  However, this one fits into the same place in my wardrobe as those summer pants do – it’s fairly long, and has a semi-elastic waist, which keeps it up (my waist to hip ratio is sometimes challenging when dressing my lower half).

Style Arc describe this skirt as follows: This mid length dirndl skirt is made for comfort with a curved front waist band, elastic back and a functional button front. The inseam pockets are optional. The slight gathers at the front create a flattering shape that gives this skirt a fashionable but classical look. This is a versatile skirt that can be worn for any occasion. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Linen, Crepe, Rayon, Cotton.

As is usually the case, there are subtleties in the drafting that give this skirt a pleasing silhouette.  It’s not too full, and although the back gathers are created by the elastic in the back waistband, the front has a small amount of gathering in to a flat fitted waistband.  The buttons down the front are functional; the skirt can be fully opened up, which is nice for better ironing access, but not necessary to get it on.  Actually, I think that the elastic in the back waistband is enough for me to pull this up over my hips.

The pockets are the usual inseam variety.  The elastic is only in the centre back section of the waistband.  I seem to recall that I scratched my head a few times when constructing the waistband, and had to re-read the instructions and take things slowly.  But it all worked out okay in the end!

Working out how best to style this midi-length skirt was a bit of a challenge for me!  I generally don’t tuck things in, so need something that still has proportions that I like when it’s worn over the top of it.  The Style Arc Bonnie woven tops (my version here and the other view that I sewed for Stella here) were designed to go with this, so would work!  I think it’s best with a bit of a crop – this simple tunic scoops up high enough at the centres to please me.

The fabric is rayon that I bought a very long time ago, when GJs discount fabrics was still in Lygon Street.  Although I didn’t wear this much last summer, I think it will stay in my wardrobe for a long time.

Yes, it’s another of last year’s garments.  Photographed in October 2020, possibly sewn a few months prior.  And no longer in my wardrobe, but I’ll get to that later.

The Arenite pants by Sew Liberated have been pretty popular in the online sewing community. I tend to stick with Style Arc for pants, because I know their draft. Pants are one of the most difficult garments to fit well in my opinion – so many shapes in so many dimensions to work with! The slouchy pockets appealed to me, along with the seaming. So I sewed them up in some deep stash fabric, which is a polyester of some type, possibly a microfibre. Perfect for a wearable muslin.

From the pattern website: The Arenite Pants are the luxuriously deep-pocketed, slouchy pants of your dreams. The pattern includes three leg finishing options – a knit cuff, an elasticated woven cuff, or a dressier hem. It also includes a view for knit fabrics, with two cuff options, for perfect, effortless loungewear. Whether made in knit or woven, the Arenite Pants blend cozy and chic, for a piece that can slip into any wardrobe, perfect for styling with tees, sweaters, and jackets, for relaxing at home, running errands, or dressed up for evenings out. They’re our new favorite pants, and we hope they’ll be yours too!

Learn to sew French seams, flat-felled seams and a comfortable, non-twist elastic waistband for a made-to-last, beautifully crafted wardrobe staple. This pattern is suitable for advanced beginners. It is the perfect project for those new to sewing pants or knits, as the fit is very forgiving. The Arenite Pants View A is designed for woven fabrics, with the exception of the knit cuff option. For the main pant, look for rayon challis, tencel twill, or silk noil. The essential characteristic of the woven fabric is fantastic drape. View B is designed for knit fabrics. Look for stable knits with a bit of drape such as interlock, sweatshirt fleece, or french terry.

I didn’t do flat-felled seams but instead overlocked, pressed to one side then topstitched. The fabric does have good drape, so worked out okay for the style. The reason it’s no longer in my wardrobe is that I don’t want to wear casual pants in polyester! I want a soft cotton, a rayon or linen. I will remake them eventually, in one of those fabrics.

The fit is very forgiving. They’re a loose style, and reviews that I’d read prior to cutting out indicated that many people went down two sizes smaller than their measurements indicated. I really wasn’t quite certain what to do, so went with one size smaller than my hip measurement. As expected, there’s plenty of room in the back thigh, which is usually the case for me. My legs are quite small compared to my torso.

The topstitching is a really nice feature, as are the slouchy pants. This type of shape works well on my type of shape with comparatively small hips and large waist and stomach. Because the waistband is elasticated it’s easy to adjust for comfort. I tend to thread through elastic into waistbands, safety pin the ends, then wear it for a day or two, adjusting the elastic as I go to get the fit just right. I think that I used one channel of wide elastic for these pants, and didn’t topstich through it.

It’s hard to remember the details from a year ago, but I assume that I shortened the pattern pieces mid-way down the leg before cutting out to accomodate my 158cm height. They’re still quite long and I’d shorten them even more in future renditions. I do like this pattern, and am likely to use it again.

When I have a relatively small amount of fabric, just enough for a top, I reach for the Marilla Walker Maya dress and top pattern.

This time around I used a linen remnant from The Cloth Shop. I like the wide neckline facing and sleeve facings; the topstitching provides a little relief to the solid colour.

I used Liberty print bias binding to finish the inside of the curved hemline. Back and front hems are finished before sewing the side seams. This gives a lovely curve to the hems and a very clean finish where the side seams intersect.

You can use bias binding to finish the neckline and armholes too if you like. This pattern is a great blank canvas and is ripe for alteration, modification and creativity. Not that this version displays any of those things!

This was sewn and photographed back in November 2020. I wore it quite often during summer. Size wise it’s size 7 with a forward shoulder alteration, but a smaller size would have been okay.

I used this pattern again recently to sew a winter version in wool to layer over other garments – once I finish blogging the 2020 backlog I will start on the 2021 backlog! In the meantime I’ll dream of weather that allows me to wear linen again. My first versions of the Maya top are here (sewn in 2018) and here (sewn in 2019).  Looks like I’m sewing one each year!

Well, this year really has gone off the rails.  Dad was in and out of hospital then died just after we came out of fourth lockdown.  Since then we’ve had a fifth lockdown and are now in a sixth lockdown – and much of the rest of the east of Australia is in lockdown too.  Bloody covid, the Delta strain is so difficult to contain.  We were so lucky here in Australia to get through 2020 pretty well, but now things look to be going down the gurgler while we try to get more people vaccinated (Dan, Clare and I are all fully vaccinated but Stella is still too young to be eligible).  Toss grief into the mix, as well as general exhaustion and there’s no wonder that my blog is neglected.  Anyway, enough of that.

Thank you SO much to all of you who left such lovely messages after my last post about Dad’s death.  I really did and do appreciate them – you are all very kind and it’s comforting to know that people care.  Grief is a challenging and sometimes confronting thing.  I continue to be constantly grateful for the long and full life that Dad had, and that we were able to have a ‘proper’ funeral for him between lockdowns.  You timed things very well Dad!

Back to the sewing.  The Style Arc Sydney pattern had been in my stash for ages.  It’s one of those ones that I’m now saying ‘why didn’t I sew this up earlier’!

This is a garment that I sewed and photographed in December 2020. I sewed size 12, my usual Style Arc top/dress size, left out the inseam pockets, and shortend it around two inches (maybe more?) by taking a fold through the centre of each skirt pattern piece in order to retain the cocoon shaping.

The fabric was a gift from a generous friend; I really love this sort of print. And it’s so soft! I suspect that it’s a Merchant and Mills block print, but can’t be sure.

You can see the folds created by the curved seamlines and the slight high-low hemline in the above photo. I was concerned that inseam pockets would drag on the seamlines in this soft fabric, so didn’t include them – which also made sewing time much faster, of course!

From the Style Arc website: Architecturally designed cocoon shaped dress. Each panel has been engineered to create the drape and fall of this interesting style. Mid length front and longer back along with the extended shoulder line completes this avant-garde look. This pattern is a clever design but is also an easy make. FABRIC SUGGESTION: Crepe, silk, washed linen, even a knit or any fabric with drape.

It looks as though I forgot to fold up the sleeves properly in these photos! They can have a folded cuff – as per the fashion illustration – or you can leave them longer. Might be a good idea to pick one or the other!

Anyway, this dress is a winner and will be part of my wardrobe for ages. It’s really comfortable in hot weather, provides some shoulder and upper arm coverage to keep that sun off, and I think that it’s rather stylish too! Just make sure that you adjust the pattern length before you cut out the dress if you are shorter than average.