Style Arc Marni Jacket Muslin

It is FINALLY warm enough (meaning just scraping 60 degrees F) to take photos outside again. I thought I'd seize the moment and get photos of my Style Arc Marni jacket that I just finished and a summer dress that I whipped up in a crazy moment in late December.

Let's start with the Style Arc Marni, shall we? This pattern was part of my Christmas riches Style Arc haul from the beginning of the year. I want to make the jacket up in the fabric you see here:

. . . but I wanted to make a muslin first to check the fit and to test my long sleeves (I've OD'd on 3/4 length sleeves this year, and I needed something different). I used a ponte knit from Hancock's that I know will likely eventually pill like her sisters did, but it seemed good enough for a muslin. And then I was so pleased with the result that I went back and finished the seams to make it a bit more finished.

Adjustments: I sewed the side seams with a 5/8" seam allowance instead of 3/8". I took an inch off the length of the bodice (this was a surprise to me since I usually have to add length, but I wanted it to hit at my natural waist). I lengthened the sleeves to full length and omitted the sleeves cuffs (not sure I'm a big fan of the cuff).

I struggled a bit with attaching the collar in the back/shoulder, but third time was the charm. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to attach the collar facing, so I borrowed the construction steps from my Jalie 2921 (more sausages!). I want my next version to be a bit more fitted, so I think I'll sew the princess seam with a 5/8" seam allowance and the side seams/sleeves with a 3/4 -1" seam allowance. I'll also add an inch to the peplum length, since I had to do a teeny-tiny hem on this one since I'd chopped off so much length in the bodice. I didn't do the button on this jacket as I wanted to wear it will a belt, but I think I might go back and add a snap or two so that it stays more in place. If you follow me on Facebook you know I found some lovely buttons at a resale shop recently and I'm sure one of them will be perfect! I like this pattern a lot and I can see making multiple versions of it since it can be casual or dressy. And did I mention cozy? The pattern calls for ponte knit or a stretch woven and this version is a soft (if pill-y) ponte.

I used the edge stitch foot and moved my needle to the left to do the topstitching along the princess seam and the collar. I bought this foot about a year ago and only just now put it to use. Dumb. This thing is fantastic for getting a straight line!

And now I've gone on too long - you'll have to come back in a few days to hear about the dress!

Style Arc Darla Peplum Top

Yep, more pattern hacking going on in my sewing studio! In my last hack, I took a top pattern and made a dress, and for this one I'm doing the reverse. I took Style Arc's Darla dress and turned it into a peplum top!

This was partly done out of necessity. I really loved this fabric combo but I didn't have enough of the polka dot to make a dress without more piecing than I wanted to take on.

Rayon double knit from GorgeousFabrics.com and magenta polka dot from GirlCharlee.com

And I also love peplum tops - perfect for those of use who need a little waist definition. To make the peplum, I traced off the top 10 inches of the skirt pieces from the Darla pattern as I wanted to continue the color block through the peplum. I divided each piece into two or three sections, and did a slash and spread, adding 2 inches to each spread.

Center Front and Side Front pieces - I did a slash and spread and
then traced off the new pieces.

I'm going to write a review on PatternReview.com with changes to the facing instructions based on my experience and the help that I received from Anne at The Clothing Engineer. I also want to give a shout out to Chloe at Style Arc. She listened to my feedback and is going to change the instructions - how's that for good customer service!

I also wanted to go through my thinking on color blocking this pattern. The other versions I've seen all have the contrast color at the shoulder yoke as well as center back & front. I opted to not have the contrast fabric at the shoulder yoke as I was pretty sure this would emphasize my shoulders, and I try to downplay them as they are the widest part of my body. I think using the contrast fabric at the shoulder would be a great option for ladies with a narrow upper body who want to balance wider hips.

Next up in personal sewing is the Style Arc Marni Ponti Jacket. The fabric I have picked out will look perfect with this top and I'll have a nice combo for Spring.

Speaking of Spring, this is what I saw when I looked out the window this morning:

Luckily all this snow melted off by late morning and we might actually get a little taste of spring today!

Style Arc Darla Dress

Some of you will remember that I had a bounty of options for making the Darla Dress, as discussed in this post. I decided to go with the ponte/double knit options for my first dress AND my first ever Style Arc make.

When you order a Style Arc pattern you only get one size, which initially made me nervous about buying their patterns. The styles won me over in the end - so much to like! My measurements were pretty close to the Size 10, so that's what I started with and I made no changes to the pattern before sewing up a muslin of the bodice. I found I had almost no changes to make after the muslin - a simple sloped shoulder adjustment to fix gaping at the front/back armhole. This was a bit tricky to do because the yoke has no shoulder seam line. After some thinking, I pinched out 1/2" at the armhole side of the yoke, midway between front and back, and tapered the fold to 0 at the neckline. I then re-drew the grainline using the "direction of greatest stretch" as a reference point. Since it worked, I'm happy with the adjustment!

I thought I would have to lengthen the bodice to have it hit my waist in the right spot, but it was perfect as is. I wanted a closer fit, so I sewed the side seams with a 5/8" seam allowance instead of the 3/8" the pattern included. I could go even slimmer if I wanted more of a date night dress (I'd probably do this by taking out a pinch at CF & CB so as not to shift the bust darts too much to the side), but this is good for now.

I really love this dress! I've worn it twice already, to a school dance at Belly's school on Friday night and again to church on Sunday, and i got tons of compliments. Even Dame Lucille, one of the fashionable older ladies at my church, sought me out to tell me how much she liked the dress. "You are a symphony of black and gray," she said.

The only part of the dress that gave me trouble was the facings. The neck and armhole facings are attached by the yoke facing, and I just couldn't figure out how to make this work. I tried one way, then another, checked online for reviews or tutorials (it seems like NO ONE has made this dress) and even wrote to Style Arc. I finally figured out a way that worked, but I'm checking with Style Arc to see if I was correct. I took a bunch of pictures and I'll post a tutorial later this week in case anyone else needs some help with this.

I made this dress with some black double knit fabric from GorgeousFabrics.com and a ponte knit print I had left over from a client project last year (I purchased it originally from StoneFabrics.co.uk). This pattern lends itself to using up large scraps, as the CB and CF pieces are not that big.

For my next variation, I plan to make a peplum top, using the dress as a base so that I can get that colorblock in the peplum as well as the bodice. I plan to use the black and black/magenta polka dot fabric I talked about in the original post. There wasn't enough of the polka dot fabric for a dress unless I did some serious piecing, so a peplum top seemed like a good back up plan.

And BTW, I changed my hairstyle, chopping off about six inches in length and adding a bunch of layers. I kept wondering why NO ONE noticed this, until I saw these pictures. It looks almost the same, especially when I wear a black top so that you can't see where my hair ends!

Vogue 8379: Wrap Dress Conversion

I've never really understood the popularity of the wrap dress. I've seen them, I've liked them, but the shape never said "Wow!" to me. I know it's a classic dress and is said to be universally flattering, but I think I was always nervous about the wrap part - that it would fly open or gape or something else equally mortifying.

One of my clients wanted a wrap dress, and after looking at options and reading reviews on PatternReview.com, we settled on Vogue 8379. She liked the fuller skirt, the collar, and the bodice pleats, and I liked that it seemed to be a well-drafted pattern.

Vogue 8379

The more I looked at versions of this dress and worked on Gloria's, the more I wanted one for myself. And I already had the perfect fabric in my stash, a beatiful ponte knit from GorgeousFabrics.com that I had been saving for the "right dress" (I'd thought about and rejected at least three other patterns for this fabric).

So, first Gloria's dress.

I made a muslin of the bodice and I didn't need to make that many alterations for the fit. I started by cutting two sizes smaller than the pattern suggested after looking at the garment measurements. I lengthened the bodice by 3/4" (expected, the reviews says that the bodice runs short), changed the angle of the shoulder seam (took up 5/8" at high shoulder/neck, tapered to 0 at the armscye), lengthened the skirt by 2.5" (Gloria is tall) and took in the side seams a bit. We also decided to shorten the sleeve to elbow length and keep the cuff vent. And that was it!

Here's Gloria in her dress before I finished futzing around with the facings and hemming the dress:

Her fabric is this lovely ponte knit from GorgeousFabrics.com: 

I made my dress up in the same fabric but in different colors!

I really love this dress!  The colors are PERFECT for me: magenta, teal, and mustard yellow (they even match my logo!) on a cream/black/brown background. And the fabric is so wonderfully soft. Here's a close-up shot:

For my own dress I needed to lengthen the bodice by 1 inch and taper the shoulders the reverse of Gloria - from 0 at the high shoulder to 1/2" at the armscye. I kept the skirt length as it was (with 3/4" hem) and shortened the sleeves by 3 inches to elbow length. The only change I made to the construction process was to add clear elastic to the shoulder seam and the waist seam (this fabric is a bit heavy and I didn't want the skirt to make it droop).

And look! No back issues!

It even makes me want to dance!

A lot of people on pattern review complained about the facings. It seemed to roll a bit on Gloria's dress so I tacked the shoulder seams to the facing, topstitched the front facings, and added a snap. For my own, I just tacked the shoulder seams. I'll do more if I need to, but so far I've found that if I arrange the facings when I put on the dress, they usually stay where they should.

And what's next for me? Well, I convinced another client that she needs a wrap dress, so I'll be making her one out of this ITY fabric (also from GorgeousFabrics.com). I guess you could say that I've been converted when it comes to the wrap dress.

And then I might be done with this one for a while. Although, I was thinking it might make a nice top . . .

Style Arc Bonanza

I've been lurking the Style Arc pattern website for over a year now. I love a lot of their designs, but the one-size-per-pattern and high shipping costs made me hesitate to push "buy". But I finally went for it with some mad money I received for Christmas this year (thank you, Aunt Wendy!).  And here's what I chose:

Clockwise from top right: Tracy Trench Coat, Emma Dress, Alisha Dress, Julia Jacket, Darla Stretch Woven Dress, Marni Ponti Jacket, Rosie Top (the free pattern for January).

Now what to make first? The two patterns that are calling to me Darla and Marni - they are the patterns I've had my eye on for longest AND I already have fabric for them.  I've got a few possible combinations for the Darla.

1) I could do the back and sides with this magenta fabric (stretch cotton sateen) and the front middle panel with the purplish grey (also stretch cotton sateen but lighter weight - I'll probably underline it with itself).

But I'm wondering if I should do something to play up the seams - piping? slot seams? - or just let them be free and unencumbered by notion-ry?

2) Option #2 for this dress is some ponte knit from my stash, a black/magenta polka dot from girlcharlee.com (I have just enough to squeeze out the front center panel and maybe the back center panel).

And Darla option #3 is an abstract grey/black ponte knit from StoneFabrics.co.uk:

What gets your vote?

The second pattern that's up at the top of the list is the Marni Jacket, which I plan to make in - surprise - a magenta double knit I found a Field's Fabrics in Kalamazoo.

I've got enough of this fabric to also make a skirt, but that might be too much magenta for one outfit. "What?" you say, "Too much magenta?" Yes, dear readers, I do know there's a limit to the amount of magenta one gal's closet can take. But in reality I approach magenta like I approach chocolate - one more itty bitty piece couldn't hurt anyone, could it?

Nothing Fancy: McCall's 6408 in Black

I made this ponte cardigan for myself a couple of weeks ago now.  I had just decided to abandon the Elisalex dress until spring (I couldn't make myself do the work of picking things apart and redesigning the skirt when I wouldn't be able to actually wear the dress for another 6 months), and I wanted a quickie palate cleansing project.  I've made this pattern up twice before for clients.  Since the weather has turned cold, I've found myself looking in my closet for a black cardigan and the only one I had was a mangy cotton one I bought from Target when I was pregnant.

The pattern is McCall's 6408.

The fabric is a yummy ponte knit from GorgeousFabrics.com.  I started out making View D but decided I didn't like the asymmetrical hemline so chopped it off to make View B.  View B turned out to be way too long for my body shape, so I chopped another 5 inches off the length and gave it a 1.5" hem, and this was perfect for what I wanted. Chopping the length meant that the ties were now disproportionately long, so I chopped 5" off each of them.  I didn't make any alterations to the fit - this garment is not fitted and looked fine as is (apart from the length that is - before I took it to the chopping block it looked like I was wearing a bathrobe).

I had to lighten these photos so that the cardigan details would be visible.
This left me so washed out I decided B&W was better.

The only other modification I made was to add a bit of elastic to the back since the ties come from the side seam and don't really shape the back on their own.  This is a simple technique I've used in the past to give shape to t-shirts or other loose-fitting garments.  I simply cut a 3" piece of 3/8" elastic, drew a horizontal line 4.5" long in the center back, and used a zig-zag stitch to sew the elastic to the line, stretching as I went.

When I make this again, I might add length to the ties so that I can wrap them around to the back and then to the front again, or I might use a wider elastic to gather the back a bit more.

While this seemed like a super boring project at the time, I've probably worn this cardigan 2-3 times a week. Boring, but useful!  At this rate, I'll wear the cardigan 60 times this winter (pretty good price per wear rate).   I'm thinking I might need another one in gray just to mix things up a bit.

I also made the scarf I'm wearing from leftover ponte knit (the taupe pieces are from the McCall's 6408 I made for a client and the purple pieces are from the Cake Tiramisu I made for a client).  I find I almost always have a strip of fabric about 6-8 inches wide left at the end of my yardage when I make up a knit/jersey project.  I've been turning these into fashion scarves (not to be confused with the kind of scarves you wear outside during a Midwest winter).  I'm pretty sure this is what Cora's teachers will receive as their Polderman present this year.

What's the best boring garment you own?

Free Sewing Tutorial: Curvy Color Block Ponte Knit Pencil Skirt

After the disappointment of the Elisalex dress, I wanted to sew something that would cheer me up.  I'm going back to the Elisalex dress soon (I will not be vanquished by thee, Madam Elisalex!), but in the meantime, sewing with knit/jersey fabric is fast, easy to fit, and (usually) highly satisfying.

I love making variations on my TNT patterns.  I consider the patterns in Sew U Home Stretch my knit block patterns, as they are simple, I know they fit, and they are easy to draft from for making variations.  I'm working on a woven dress block so that I can draft variations there, too, but I'm still perfecting the muslin.  But my knit block pattern was all I needed for this project. 

So, please meet THE CURVY COLOR BLOCK KNIT PENCIL SKIRT!!

I based this design on my corsetted pencil skirt, which has been really popular with clients (I think I've now made this skirt for five different people).

And because I like y'all so much, I'm going to show you how to do it.

TUTORIAL

Supplies
Knit skirt block with waistband
2 or 3-inch elastic
Ballpoint/stretch sewing needle
Tracing/drafting paper (you need to see through it)
Medium to heavy weight knit fabric - I used two ponte knits from GorgeousFabrics.com
Lining fabric (optional - I used a knit tricot)
Seam gauge or measuring tape
Ruler

Draft Color Block Skirt
STEP 1: If you don't have this marked already, modify your skirt block to a pencil skirt.  I have a mini-tutorial on this here.

STEP 2: Take pencil skirt front pattern piece and place marks 3 inches in from the side seam all the way down to the hip line. UPDATE: For larger sizes, I have found that it's best to measure in thirds. You want the color block inset to take up about two-third of the skirt. On your quarter-block, measure across the waist and hip lines. Divide these numbers into thirds. So if my quarter-waist measurement is 8, I would place a mark about 2.75 inches in from the side seam at the waist. If my quarter-hip measurement is 11, I would place a mark at 3.75 inches from the side seam at the hip.

STEP 2: Place a mark 5-6 inches in from the side seam at the hem (remember to mark in from the pencil skirt line if you have simply drawn that on top on your regular block).  Using a ruler or other straight edge, draw a line between this mark and the 3-inch mark at the hip line.

STEP 3: Connect dots, smoothing out line at the hip.  Feel free to play with the line to make it more curvy or straight. If you have a French curve or hip curve, use it!

STEP 4: Repeat with pencil skirt back.  Your skirt blocks should now look like this:

STEP 5: Use tracing paper to trace your four new pattern pieces (center front, side front, center back, side back).  Make sure to add a grainline on the side front and side back pieces.  I do this simply by measuring over from the center front/back fold.

STEP 6: Add seam allowance to all your pieces.  I usually use 1/4" or 3/8" on knit fabric when I have already tweaked the pattern for fit.  Since I wanted a 3-inch elastic waistband and my skirt block only allows for a 2-inch waistband, I marked 1 inch lower on the waist to remind myself to cut there.  Your four pattern pieces will look something like this:

Hello, Toes!

Cut and Assemble Skirt
You probably already know how to do this because you've made this skirt before, but I'll walk through the steps in order to highlight how to sew this new shape.

STEP 1: Cut skirt and waistband pieces.  If you aren't sure which side of a solid knit/jersey fabric is the "right" side, hold onto the selvedge sides and pull across the cut edge.  The fabric will roll to the right side.  If you are using 3" elastic, the size of the waistband will be (your waist + 3/4") x 7".  For 2" elastic, the width will be 5". This allows for a 1/4 - 3/8" seam allowance plus a touch extra.

For my waistband, I wanted the color block design to carry through the waistband.  I cut four pieces (center front, center back, two sides) and just measured the top of the skirt color block pieces to know how wide to make each section.

Note: Place a mark at the hip line on your center front/back, and side front/back pieces.  This will make it easier to match up the skirt pieces in the next step.

STEP 2: Pin and sew front/back side pieces to front/back center pieces.  This step might feel wrong when you are doing it, as you'll be matching a concave curve to a convex curve.  Pin the hip mark first, then top and bottom, then the rest.  Feel free to use a lot of pins on the curves (I did).  You'll notice that the fabric won't lie flat - that's okay (see third photo).  As long as the fabric is flat within your seam allowance (this is why having a small seam allowance is helpful), all will be well in the end.

If you have a walking foot, this is a good time to use it.  I like to sew with a long stitch on my regular sewing machine then serge over the seam with my serger.

Press seams - this should take out any remaining ripples.

STEP 3: Pin and sew side seams.  Place front section on back section, right sides together, matching hip marks.  Pin and sew with long stretch stitch on sewing machine or with overlock stitch on the serger.

STEP 4: Sew waistband.  Fold waistband right sides together, matching short sides.  Pin and sew.  Press seam open or to one side.  Fold waistband in half along long side and press.

STEP 5: Attach waistband.  Divide skirt into 8 equal sections and mark with pins.  Divide waistband into 3 equal sections and mark with pins.  Place waistband over skirt, right sides together matching pins.  Pin in place.  I like to have the waistband seam at center back.  Sew around waistband leaving a 2-3 inch opening at center back to insert your elastic.  You may need to stretch the waistband slightly as you sew to match the skirt.

If you have a color block waistband, then you'll simply need to match up the sections.

STEP 6:  Cut and insert elastic.  Hold elastic around your waist to determine how long you want it.  The elastic should be slightly stretched.  Overlap by 1/4 - 3/8" for seam allowance.  Attach a safety pin to each end.  Use one safety pin to feed the elastic through the waistband and use the second safety pin to secure the other end to the skirt (so that you don't accidentally pull it all the way through - very annoying).  This is harder to do with 3" elastic, but you'll get there.  Once the elastic is all the way through, overlap the ends and pin.  Sew ends together with a zig-zag stitch and trim off excess elastic.

STEP 7: Finish skirt.  Pin opening on the waistband to the skirt and finish this seam.  Try on the skirt and determine where you would like the hem.  Fold and press hem allowance and stitch the hem.  You can stitch the hem with a straight stitch, zig-zag stitch, blind stitch, or coverstitch (I used the coverstitch on my serger). Now put on the skirt and feel curvy!

I don't know why I am looking up, unless I'm worried about
bird poop - that tree behind me is full of birds.

My attempt at looking curvy.

And finally a word on the fabric I used.  I bought this ponte knit over a year ago from GorgeousFabrics.com thinking it would make a fun pencil skirt.  When it arrived, I liked it, but the thought of that bold, strong print swaddling my lower half was too much.  It sat around in my stash and I'd look at it every now and again and think, "How do I tame you?"  Finally this design idea came to me.  It was a "duh" moment (no angels singing opera) since I've seen about a million color block options online and this silhouette has been in my arsenal for a while now.  But I'll take "duh" for inspiration.  The black fabric came from GorgeousFabrics.com and you can find it here.  I lined the skirt with a black knit tricot that I also purchased from GorgeousFabrics.com (this isn't in stock but they have other knit linings).  I thought long and hard about where I placed the print on for the front and back pieces - I did not want to shine a spotlight on certain anatomical features!

Let me know if you have any questions and I'll add more construction photos the next time I make this skirt - I'm already scheming to make another version with this fabric (ponte knit and yes, it was also purchased from Gorgeous Fabrics - you can tell where I do most of my online shopping!):

If you make your own version of the skirt, please send me a picture or a link to your blog - I'd love to feature it!