Rebecca page blouse and skirt

For this post, I have two garments to show you!  I found this beautiful coral colored stretch shirting from Fabric Mart and after deciding I must sew with more color once in a while, I snatched it up. 

It is so beautiful to work with!  I love FMs selection of designer fabrics.  They are such nice quality. 

I chose these two patterns, both from Rebecca Page. 

https://rebecca-page.com/product/ladies-tie-neck-blouse-pattern/

 

I like the ultra feminine designs of both these garments and the ties on both! 

For the skirt, I found this so pretty metallic suiting and knew it would make a great something.  I finally decided on this cute skirt design.  I ended up lining the skirt with some leftovers from my stash.  It worked beautifully. 

I love lining skirts.  They look so much smoother when worn.  

See how nicely the shirting gathered?

The waist tie is fun.

I am pretty happy with how this turned out!

Thanks for reading!

Sue 

The Lorie jacket by StyleArc

Have you seen this pattern?


It's called the Lorie jacket and it is from StyleArc.  Look at those design lines!  How awesome are they?  When I decided to create this jacket, I searched all over the web and found only 2 or so reviews, both of which were very favorable.  So, I went for it!

Here is the description from the StyleArc site:  Simple zip front jacket pattern with a designer look. The interesting back design lines along with shaped hem bands gives this jacket a great shape. Use your design skills to create a unique look by your selection of braids/trims. This jacket is fully lined. But can be sewn unlined if preferred.

I made this jacket pretty much as designed but I did leave off the zip.  I love the zip, but with my fabric choice and the gold bias trim, it was plenty busy.  

I love the overall style--it is pretty boxy but not sloppy looking.  The front and back yokes are perfect for using a contrast trim, self-trim, or piping.  I used self-fringe.  I love making fringe.  It is fast, fun, and adds such a neat little extra to your garment.  

Look how nice my shoulders and armscye turned out!  I am very pleased with how that part of my jacket turned out!  I made a 1/2" sloped shoulder adjustment by taking the shoulder seam in starting about midway from the neckline to the shoulder.  I added 1/4" shoulder pads but the garment called for 1/2" pads.  I remember wearing HUGE shoulder pads back in the 90's and while at times I will make a jacket or coat with 1/2" pads, I try to have minimal sized ones as they seem to be plenty!  Just enough to fill out the shoulder area without making you feel like a linebacker.  

What else did I do?  I made my usual 1/2" swayback adjustment and that is it!!!  

Let's talk about the plaid matching!  I am so very proud of how well I matched up the plaid.  This is an uneven plaid meaning that when you fold back a corner to a 45 degree angle, you can tell if the plaid is balanced or even or not.  Mine was not, so I took the very tedious step of cutting out each piece of the pattern one-by-one.  Tedious, but well worth the effort when I see the final result!  

I even included the back side panels in the plaid matching and see if you can see those seam lines.  

As I stated before, I left off the zipper.  I also didn't include the fringe on the sleeve hems or the jacket hem.  But I did include it at the neckline, front and back yokes and also the center front.  Check out the center front, I even matched the fringe plaid as well!!!  The gold is a bold choice, but with a gold thread running through the weave, I thought that the purchased gold trim would be a fun accent. What do you think?

As with almost every StyleArc pattern I've used the drafting is exceptional.  The instructions assume that you've made quite a few garments and know what you are doing.  I highly recommend reading the construction notes, main garment construction, and lining instructions BEFORE you start sewing this. Trust me, it will all make sense once you do!  A few things are left out completely as to how you tack down the hem facings on the sleeve and garment lower edge.  I hand hemmed those edges and then decided to hand hem the lower edge and sleeve lining as well.  I like hand sewing, especially on garments where I've taken my time to construct.  It sort of seams like icing a cake--the final finishing touch! 

I really love this jacket.  The fabric was purchased from Fabric Mart and is a boluce suiting. It sewed beautifully, pressed easily with a pressing cloth, and I think is very fun!

Thanks for reading!!!
Sue 

Fall transitional jacket starring StyleArc Livia :)

Fall has to be my most favorite season of the year.  In South Dakota typically the weather is at its best, the trees, flowers, shrubs are filled with color, and the cool evenings and warm days are delightful.  What's a girl to do besides sew some garments that take us from summer to fall and even winter?

 

In swoops a gorgeous suiting from Fabric Mart in black/blue and ivory novelty weave  with great body, weight, and I knew it would be perfect for the Style Arc Livia jacket.  The colors stated were black and white, but I think the black has a lot of blue in it and found my leather pieces, also from Fabric Mart, were a perfect match!  More on that later!

This pattern was a freebie from July's StyleArc order.  You may remember that I made the StyleArc Sierra Jacket in a plaid suiting, also from Fabric Mart, and when I ordered the pattern, I simply had to state my size in order to receive the free Livia jacket pattern.  I love the clean and classic lines and the simple fit.  Not too boxy but not fitted either. 

I wanted a jacket that would work with jeans for casual Fridays or a skirt or dressier pants for the work week.  

Cutting and sewing the pattern was simple!  There are only nine pattern pieces which include the front and back facings, two sizes of patch pockets, two piece sleeves front, back and side back.  Seriously, this took about 30 minutes to cut and I am a slow poke when it comes to that step!

I love the patch pockets on the front.  I mentioned I used garment leather for the top portions of the pockets.  The leather is hand washable and the suiting fabric is washable on gentle.  I think this will be a win-win fabric combination.  

Sewing this up is fast and easy as well.  There are minimal seams to put together which is a bonus.

Look at those sleeves.  Are they not hanging beautifully or what?  I added 1/4" shoulder pads and found that they rounded out the area perfectly and help the sleeve hang just like it is on a hanger or dress form.

This jacket is unlined and look at how beautifully the fabric is suited for this!  Sometimes I feel like I nail it for fabric and patterns combos and yes, this is one of those times!

Here is a glimpse of the hook and eye type of treatment I used at the neckline. This was in the button section of JoAnn's fabrics and I thought it would be a tad bit nicer than a regular hook and eye the pattern calls for.

I love this fabric, I love my jacket so pick up some suiting fabric from Fabric Mart, match it to pattern and show me what you've created!

Thanks for reading!
Sue

A Little White Dress, cuz everyone needs one!

Before we begin, how about a few inspiration photos?  I love all three of these dresses!  Cute, stylish, fun, and totally open to accessories!  Winter, fall, spring, and cool summer days will work for these!  
              



Do you have a LWD or little white/off white dress?  If so, don't you love it?  If not, get one!




















I love the simplicity of all three dresses!  You can accessorize to your heart's content and wear great shoes!

I choose Vogue 9092 for my version:  

You can see from the line drawings there are MANY possibilities!  I made the dress but simply added the sleeves from A and left off the little flappy things for the faux pockets.  This is a very easy custom fit pattern and I really love these patterns!  No guess work on the bust adjustments.  Some brilliant person already did the math and now we get to reap the rewards!

Since I had made this pattern before, and that it is very simple, I decided to make a few changes just so I can continue to improve my sewing skills!

First, I lined the entire thing by cutting white lining fabric I purchased at Hancock's and treating both layers as one.  Do me a favor and don't do this, ever!  What a pain in the butt!  I'm wondering if I should take the entire thing apart and redo the lining.

Other than the addition of the lining and sleeves, I did the same neckband application I used the first go around.  The pattern calls for purchased bias tape that is applied and acts as a facing.  While this can be just fine, I don't like it nearly as well as other finishes and I decided to use the neckband.  This is hand-stitched on the inside to keep it in place.  

Let's talk about all the frustration these darts caused me!  Since I had two layers of fabric and I thought I had so very carefully cut both layers so they were the same size and since I used a mountain of pins to make sure everything stayed put, well, it didn't and these darts caused me to want to burn this thing!  I had dimples at the darts no matter how well I pressed, resewed, etc.  I finally decided to sew the lining darts separate from the main fabric darts and hope for better results and I got just that, better!

The ivory fabric is a suiting from Fabric Mart.  It was a designer fabric and lovely to work with!  It's washable and dryable too!  Yippee!

I guess I should clarify that my dress is off-white, or winter white.  I do plan on wearing this in the fall and winter as the weather allows!  How cute with boots, tights, and a jean jacket!  Are you feeling this like I am?

I think I really like my winter white dress.  It's comfortable, and can be styled up or down with reckless abandon.

Thanks for reading!
Sue  

Another StyleArc Jacket, but this time it is the Sienna!

StyleArc, please stop tempting me with all your dang cute patterns!  Especially the jackets, skirts, tops, pants, oh wait...that's all their patterns!  I just drool when I see them made up!


A fellow reviewer at SPR made this in white and I decided right then and there to order the pattern...even though I had to get it from Australia!

Just look at those design lines!

I love the softness around the neckline that cascades down the front. 

Here is a description from the pattern: Beautifully seamed at the back, this is an unstructured jacket that has a flowing open cut front falling from the back collar stand.  

The shaped hem bands and two piece sleeves give this jacket a tailored feel but it is simple enough to make in an afternoon.

This pattern is rated by StyleArc as medium to challenging.

I used a mini-plaid rayon stretch suiting from Fabric Mart.  The fabric is really awesome to work with and the stretch makes it comfortable and drapey!  Pretty much perfect for this type of jacket.

Sizing for this is typical StyleArc.  I always use a 12 with zero alterations to the body of the garment and this pattern was no exception.  My only alteration to the pattern at all was to shorten the sleeves by about an inch.  StyleArc sleeves always seem so long and I'm 5'7"!  

Everyone who's sewn a StyleArc knows the directions are basically a blueprint for construction steps. This pattern is no exception and there is one drawing that shows how the facing is turned out at the neckline and hemline.

There is an option to include the facing or not and I included it.  My fabric was perfect as it didn't deflect from the draping at all.  Also, it hides some of the seamlines you'd see if the facing wasn't there.

I am wondering about the sleeves with this pattern.  They seem to not hang as nicely as I'd like despite keeping all the notches lined up exactly.  Has anyone else had this issue?  Check out the sleeves and let me know what you think.

It was a little difficult getting the edge where the front and front band to match up perfectly and this may be due to the order of construction.  I am going to play with this for my second version to see if I can make this step easier and get better results.


Thanks for reading!  I really love my new jacket!  It is a perfect fall transitional piece or for a cool summer evening.

Sue :)