The Sewing Workshop has been having sew-alongs (SAL) all summer long. (If you’re interested in participating, there’s a Facebook group.) I first was going to participate in the Zayn top sew-along. I made a muslin out of a knit (in a pattern designed for wovens—hmmm), but then the more I looked at the actual design of the pattern, the less I loved it, and just never moved forward. Then when the Cottage Shirt SAL happened, I knew I wanted to make that top.

I shopped around to all my favorite online fabric stores, ending up at Smuggler’s Daughter, where I found this Max Mara “Water Habitat” print. Isn’t that the coolest print?! It just struck me as unusual, and with the black background, I felt it would go with all of my black slacks and crops.

The fabric arrived when I returned from Bali, and I thought I would get it made up before my Japan tour. Alas. I did make a quick muslin from an old sheet for the body of the shirt, just so I could see where the hem fell and if I needed to cut a Medium or a Large. I wear Large in most patterns, both Big 4 and Indie designers. But with Sewing Workshop, I frequently feel like I’m swimming in the Large. The muslin was a Medium, and I felt that would work.

Let’s get to the review and then I tell you more about my feelings regarding this top:

Pattern Description: (From the website) Loose-fitting camp shirt with a modern twist has tailored collar and stand, back yoke, armhole bands and exaggerated hems with side vents. Six-button closure.

Pattern Sizing: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
After making a quick muslin, I cut a Medium. Should I have cut a Large? This pattern isn’t loose-fitting in the way something like Sewing Workshop’s Balboa is. My Balboa has been ¾-finished for about 18 months and just hanging in my basement until I figure out what to do with its massiveness. And yet its description on the website doesn’t even mention “loose-fitting.”

Shirt-jacket, unbuttoned[/caption]Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yeah, I guess.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Hmmm. I kept going back and forth between the instruction sheet and the SAL hints and tips. At points there seemed to be a disconnect between the instruction sheet and the SAL files. I had an especially difficult time with the collar and collar stand. Honestly, this is not my first rodeo, er, collar insertion! I never was able to get it done in a way that matched either document. Towards the end of my collar patience, I just kinda shoved it in and hand-sewed it shut.

I do a great yoke burrito, but the collar burrito — not so much. Honestly, I think I attached that collar three separate times. My seam ripper got a lot of exercise with this project.

I’ll be the first to admit that I need instant gratification, or at least in-the-near-future gratification. I got so frustrated with this make that I totally lost my mojo. The only thing that got me through this, at some point, was my refusal to relegate it to the UFO stack.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The deep hem is a fabric hog. I think a 2″ hem would probably be better than a 6″ or 7″ hem. And I’m sure part of my complaint is that 2 yards of a directional print did not give me enough fabric to lengthen the body.

My other complaint is the sleeve band. The instructions have you leaving the side seam open ⅝” below the armscye. I had a devil of a time getting that sleeve band set in without unintentional mini-tucks.

One more note—I interfaced both collar pieces, and I’m sorry I did. Use a lightweight interfacing and only do one side.

Fabric Used: Lightweight 100% cotton from the looms of Max Mara, purchased from Smuggler’s Daughter. I think a drapier lightweight fabric—maybe even silk—would have been better.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: None that were intentional. 😉

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I doubt I will sew it again, although I will sew the sister shirt, London. I’m thinking that will be better on my body. I will only recommend it to Advanced Intermediate sewers with slender bodies.

Conclusion: Great idea, great design. An unsuccessful sew—in my opinion and through my eyes. (Note to self: take your next pictures after supper, not after lunch! Midday skylight is not your friend.)

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So how did I feel about this shirt? I wanted to love it. In my mind, it was going to be a wonderful shirt. I don’t love it, and I’m sad about not loving it. It may get offered around my group of girlfriends the next time we meet for dinner. And I might make it again with these changes: a lighter fabric with more drape, probably one of the silk charmeuse pieces that are in my stash; use just the collar stand instead of the full collar, maybe even making the stand a little taller; and lengthening the body 2″. It might even be wise to cut it in Large rather than Medium. I’ll let you know ….

If you make this shirt, I’d love to see your review and learn how it went for you. Good luck!

Here are links to the sew-along files on the Sewing Workshop blog. My advice is to read the instruction sheet, then the SAL instructions, then back and forth a couple of times until you’ve really gotten it into your brain. And I wish you the very best of luck. I think this shirt would be great on some bodies—just not mine.

Cottage Sew Along Part One
Cottage Sew Along Part Two
Cottage Sew Along Part Three
Cottage Sew Along Part Four
Cottage Sew Along Part Five
Cottage Sew Along Part Six
Cottage Sew Along – Print Matching

Back in March, when I was getting ready for a trip with my sister to California that never happened, and simultaneously trying to get everything ready for three weeks in Singapore and Bali, I made a new tunic. I love this rayon knit that I picked up from Crinklelove [.com] when they carried more knit fabrics. Now they seem to be more about quilts, and I only can find one instance of this fabric anymore. (If you’re interested in grabbing a piece of this fabric in the inverse colorway, here’s the Etsy link.)

I used Marcy Tilton’s Vogue 9272. I had originally thought maybe I would take it along to Bali for cool evenings in restaurants. Alas, the more I looked at the weather forecast as the trip drew closer, and after an email from the tour leader who said, “Jan? Are you kidding?”, I nixed that idea. I wore the tunic once before I left for Bali, and I don’t think I’ve worn it since. That’s almost six months of a new garment just languishing in the closet.

Poor forgotten beautiful tunic. ☹️

In Northeast Ohio, we have now—as of August 24—had two nights of 50-something degree temperatures. I’m loving it, and I’m loving the associated cool mornings. So for today’s 10:00 a.m. pedicure appointment, I slipped on this tunic with black lightweight cropped leggings. I didn’t love the blue and white with the black. It was okay, but I didn’t love it. And while I was sitting in the pedi chair with the lovely Amanda working her magic on my feet, I realized I had never blogged this top.

Blog posts need photos, you know. When I got home, I switched out the black cropped leggings for their twin white pair, and now I love the look. And the sandals they’re styled with are Teva’s Ysidro leather sandals that are my new favorite travel shoes. They’re super comfortable, actually some of the most comfortable sandals I think I’ve ever worn, and have this brilliant strap in the back that prevents me from getting blisters on my heels. Score!! I was all alone at home and the camera wasn’t working, so I kept leaning my phone against an open window to get these pictures. You take what you can get!!

Here, at long last, is the review:

Pattern Description: Fitted, pullover tunic has neck band and godets at side hem. A: Contrast neck band, godets. For moderate stretch knits only. (From the pattern envelope)

Pattern Sizing: XS-S-M-L-XL-XXL. I routinely take a 16 or a Large in Marcy’s patterns. If this fabric had more stretch, I might have had to downsize. It’s about a 50% stretch and the Large worked fine.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I’m not much for the sides of the dress hanging down like this (not sure what that design style is called …) but I really love this pattern and how the finished top looks on me.

The godets were pretty full and I wasn’t sure that’s what I wanted.

Otherwise I loved the lines of the pattern.

Fabric Used: 95% Rayon, 5% Lycra. Very nice feel to the fabric, very comfortable.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: As I said above, I wasn’t sure I wanted the godet as full as designed. Then when I realized I didn’t have enough fabric to make them as designed, that solved my problem. As I recall, the godet as designed is greater than a 90° angle—I’d have to go to the basement and dig out the pattern to check. But I think it’s much fuller than mine, as shown here. I’m very happy with this. What I’m saying is, don’t be afraid to play with the fullness of the godet.

Oh, the neckline. If you look at the pattern sketch above, you’ll see there are some funky pleats in the “collar.” I was a) in a hurry, and b) unsure what to do about those pleats. I read a few reviews and several people said they had omitted the pleats. So that’s what I did. I LOVE the face-framing nature of this neckline without the pleats. So happy I did it that way and will continue to do so with each subsequent make!

Most Big Four patterns are designed for a 5’6″ frame. I’m 5’8″ and normally add 2-3″ to Marcy’s and Katherine’s patterns. I think because of the godet I didn’t add anything to the length. I wish I had 1″ more. So when I make it again, if I already added 2″, I’ll change it to 3″. If I added nothing, I’ll add at least 1″.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Absolutely.

Conclusion: A flattering top, perfect over skinny pants or leggings. I went outside my comfort level in making this top and am so glad I did.

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And to add a little sweetness to your day, we’ve got a late-season pregnancy going on in the dogwood tree outside our 2nd floor family room window. 😉 (Okay, humor me. I know it’s not a “pregnancy.” I just liked the sound of that.) Can’t wait to see what comes of this effort.

After so much travel, I’ve finally gotten my sewing mojo back. Before my travel to hot and steamy destinations, I picked up two pieces of linen at Jo-Ann. I normally do not utilize Jo-Ann’s convenient location for fabric, but I didn’t think I could go wrong with 100% linen. And, you know, coupons.

I wanted a couple of pair of lightweight, cool pants for my summer travels. Digging through my pattern stash, I chose the StyleArc Peta Pants. (StyleArc is an Australian company that turns out some wonderful designs of simple, classic clothes.) I first made a Peta muslin in an old piece of a high quality lightweight linen that had been in the fabric stash for about 20 years. I cut them above-knee length or, actually, as much as I could get out of the remnant I had. The fit was fine, so I moved forward. The bronze pair I cut sort of crop-length. They were finished before I went to Japan, and went along for the ride. And I made the tan pair full length, as shown in the pattern, but without the drawstring. They were cut out before Japan, but didn’t get sewn until I got back. I was able to finish them before I headed to Interlochen to take the grandbabes up for camp. And that muslin, which was a namby-pamby light pastel—and that’s NOT redundant—blue-violet? I’ll be dyeing that pair with Procion MX Indigo and will have a bonus pair of shorts, now that it’s starting to feel like fall. Oh, well, they’ll be ready for next summer.

My newly 17-year-old granddaughter came over today to help me do some sorting and organizing with my stash, so the first task I gave her was take photos for me in the pants. That was much easier and faster than trying to do it myself.

Here’s the review:

Pattern Description: “Great pull on pant with beautiful leg shape.” (Quoting the StyleArc website.) Really, if you fold the hem up to the knee, in a size 16 it’s about 1¾ to 2″ shy of being straight leg, i.e. it tapers in 1¾ to 2″ from the knee to the hem.

Pattern Sizing: 4-30. Pattern available in both printed and PDF. I cut a 16. I wear 14 in RTW.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Typical minimalist instructions. The only problem was the pockets.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? Oh, the pockets. The pocket pattern piece is rectangular. The picture of the pocket pattern piece in the instructions is a typical in-seam pocket that you’re used to seeing, if this is not your first pattern with in-seam pockets. On my muslin, I didn’t bother with the pockets, so was unaware of the discrepancy between the printed pattern piece and the instructions. When I got to the bronze pair—the crops—I put the right pocket in using the pocket pattern piece that’s provided, then I said to hell with the left seam and just sewed it as if it were intended to be pocketless.

For the tan pair, I spent time digging through my stash of patterns from the Big Four (Butterick, Vogue, McCall’s, and Simplicity) to find a pair of pants with in-seam pockets from which I could borrow the pattern piece. Finally found what I wanted, redrew to match the shape of the side seam, lengthened the top so it would come up to the waistline fold and be fully enclosed in the waist casing. I followed the directions from the pattern instructions of the borrowed-from pants, and am very happy with how it ended up.

Fabric Used: 100% linen from Jo-Ann’s, light- to mid-weight.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Here’s a picture of the pockets—click on the photo to enlarge, then use your device touch screen to zoom to see the detail. (Oops, when I shot the picture just now, I realized I only edgestitched the right pocket, not the left.) My side seams and inseams are double-stitched about ¼” apart, as I would do with knits. And then the seam allowance is trimmed close to the outer stitching and zigzagged to prevent fraying. And look at that casing for the waist elastic. I’m in love! It’s an incredibly comfortable finish, and quite pretty, if I do say so myself.

I cut 1¼” strips of fusible tricot interfacing, fused them to the hem allowances, zigzagged the raw linen/interfacing edges, then folded on the inner cut edge of the interfacing and pressed. This gives me a lovely crisp hem. The picture looks like it’s double-needle stitched, but it’s just a single needle run once around (I hand-baste from the inside along the cut edge of the hem so can get a very straight seam line.), then I moved the needle closer to the hem by about an ⅛” and followed the previous seam line around.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I actually prefer a narrower leg in my pants, but Peta definitely has a place in my wardrobe. For a straighter-leg pant, she’ll now be my go-to pattern. Yes, I will sew it again.

Conclusion: The only reason I classify this pattern as Intermediate skill rather than Beginner is the challenge with the pocket pattern piece. If you’re a beginner, make a different pair of pants or a skirt with in-seam pockets first, then make a copy of that pocket pattern piece and the instructions and store them with your Peta. Or just skip the pocket altogether. No harm done.

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Let’s be honest. I was hesitant to post the backside photo of the bronze pair. But really—aren’t I better off knowing what I look like from the backside in these pants? For a 68-year-old carrying a couple dozen extra pounds, it’s okay. It could be much worse. And now I’m motivated to step up my daily walks. (Besides, DGD said it looked okay. And she’s 17. She wouldn’t post a picture of her grandma if she was embarrassed by the way I looked in the photo. Would she???)

Pants styled with an Eileen Fisher cotton ballet-neck t-shirt and an Eileen Fisher silk knit tank. Mephisto platform mules from about fifteen years ago, and Vionic flat slides from last summer. Pictures taken on the front steps of my 90-year-old home.

I’m leaving for Bali in eight days. Two years ago this week, I was scheduled to leave for Bali on Thursday. The Jazzman and I had just returned from Easter dinner in Columbus with his brothers and their families. I was carrying our bags out of the car when I caught my toe on the sidewalk. I realized I was going down and was determined not to break my wrist again, so consciously threw my body into a turn to protect my wrists. In doing so, I fell on my back on the lawn in such a way that the muscles in my back were severely bruised. After a trip to the ER for X-rays, I was in so much pain that I knew I could not live through the thirty hours of travel required to get from Youngstown to Denpasar. My Bali Fiber Tour was cancelled. ☹

Fast-forward two years. I took advantage of another opportunity and signed up for another Bali Fiber Tour with Barb Alexander. The best part of the tour this time is that nine of the ten women on the tour are alums of the Design Outside the Lines workshops that Diane Ericson (previously co-taught with Marcy Tilton) hosts several times a year in various creative locales. The women on this tour understand my passion for fabric and textiles. I’ve partnered with Tina Daily, a Portlander whom I met and instantly clicked with at the Design Outside the Lines session in Taos last June. We’ve been in touch weekly since we decided to take this journey together, and even had a sew-a-long making duffel bags out of canvas that Tina ice-dyed as our carry-on luggage. And now we’re one week away from departure.

Once I washed the three meters of fabric and hung it up to dry, I realized the ginkgo leaves were sparsley printed on one meter of the fabric, but the other two meters were densely printed. Cool! A great opportunity for playing with mix-and-match. Searching my pattern stash, I realized the StyleArc Kaye Tunic was perfect for this fabric. The sleeves and the pocket were the place for the sparsely printed section, while everything else would be cut from the densely printed section. In the photo at the top of this paragraph, you can see my shoulder, with the sparsely printed sleeve and the densely printed body. (All photos are clickable for enlargement.) Love this pattern play.

Here’s the review:

Pattern Description: A long line tunic top with a unique symmetrical hemline that creates a flattering draped effect

Pattern Sizing: 4-30. I ordered the paper pattern in a size 16.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes.

Were the instructions easy to follow? StyleArc’s instructions are succinct. See my comments in the changes section.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the bias-cut pocket. The neckline is very flattering. Dislike – nothing.

Fabric Used: Rayon batik created during one of Barb Alexander’s Bali Fiber Tours two years ago. At the last minute, I cancelled because of a fall; Barb completed my batik project and shipped the fabric to me after the tour.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I’m 5’8″ and usually add up to 3″ to the torso of a tunic. I added nothing to this and it was fine. If you’re vertically-challenged, you might need to shorten the body some—or you may need to skip the Kaye tunic. (Maybe make it without the pocket, but the pockets are one of the best features of this tunic.) The only (IMO) glitch in the instructions was in the insertion of the sleeve. I undid the side seams ⅜” at the armscye. Sew the sleeve down to the ⅜” opening. Then pin and sew the bottom of the sleeve to the top of the side/pocket panel across from side seam to side seam. Leaving that seam open the ⅜” makes inserting the sleeve much easier. (Otherwise, you’re going to have to carefully pivot at the ⅜” point on that top of the side panel seam. Tricky.)

In the comments on a previous review, a reader asked about the hems on the pockets. Here’s how I handled it: The first step is attaching the pockets to the side panels. At this point, I fused a ⅜” strip of fusible tricot to the hem, turned it up and pressed, then top-stitched just inside the hem allowance. The tricot is soft enough to not stiffen the soft drape of the pocket, but firm enough to give me a crisp fold on the hem. When I attached the pocket/side panel to the back and front, I left ⅜” of the front and back pieces extending below the bottom of the pocket. Then I fused a ⅜” strip of tricot interfacing to the front and back hems, folded, pressed, and top-stitched. The edges of the front and back hems meet the hems of the side panels as if it was all seamed together—but it’s much simpler! (Again, IMO.)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I will absolutely sew this again. I’d like to try it in a firm knit, maybe a light ponte. I do recommend. Just take your time on the side panel and the sleeve and think it through.

Conclusion: Beautiful, drapey, flattering tunic to wear with leggings. Can’t wait to wear to dinner in Bali.

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Here’s another look at the fabric that made these bags. To see more of Tina’s beautiful work, here’s a link to her Etsy shop.

We took a Craftsy class to make the bags. The class is Betz White’s “Sew Better Bags: The Weekend Duffel. The bag is not an easy make, but we’re happy with the finished bags and will be carrying them onto the plane with us for the long trip. I leave from Cleveland; Tina leaves from Portland. We meet in San Francisco; thirteen-and-a-half hours later, we’ll land in Taipei. After a four-hour layover, we’ll fly to Singapore. We leave SFO at 12:45am on Tuesday and arrive in SIN twenty-two hours and forty minutes later, at noon on Wednesday. We’ll hang out with Tina’s niece in Singapore for a couple of days, then take a five-hour flight from Singapore to Bali, when our two weeks of creativity begin.

Did I say I can’t wait? I can’t wait!!

On the heels of Friday’s seersucker StyleArc “Courtney” top, I made a second Courtney from a lightweight linen. And I love it!

While constructing the seersucker top, I also had a dye job going. First I took a pair of Eileen Fisher stretch knit crops that I hated the pale gray color of, and dumped them into my wringer washer that came with the house (lucky old house purchaser!). I had prepared the dye bath with a bottle of Rit liquid dye in Taupe. The pants didn’t contain much fabric, and half the bottle would have been sufficient for those pants to come out a lovely taupe color. But I used the entire bottle and they came out somewhere between avocado and olive. And I love them! As the Rit process didn’t involve adding soda ash or anything that would expend the color, I was pretty sure there was enough dye in there to turn a piece of white linen with tiny pinstripes an inch apart into a beige that would be more practical for travel. So I wet the fabric and tossed it into the old washer while rinsing the crops.

<Sidenote>
You might wonder why I kept the wringer washer and why I love it so much. My regular laundry wash machine is a Bosch front loader. Forget about trying to dye anything in that. The old washer agitates the heck out of any piece of fabric I put in there, which is exactly what you want when repurposing an older garment that’s already shrunk all it’s going to shrink, or a piece of fabric that you want an even color on. That washer and me—we’ve got a love affair goin’ on.
<Sidenote Off>

It is an odd shade of beige/ecru, but isn’t that the fun of dyeing fabric? It’s got the tiniest hint of pink to it, and I love the fabric and the finished top.

This sewing experience was basically the same as the seersucker, except I didn’t need to reference the instruction sheet at all. One thing I didn’t mention in the previous post was my hem. This is a trick I learned from Diane Ericson last summer at the June “Design Outside the Lines” retreat in Taos. On all my knit garments, I fuse a strip of tricot interfacing to the hem allowance. The width of the strip is equal to the depth of the hem. In other words, if the hem is ½” deep, I’m going to cut strips of fusible tricot to equal ½” wide and the circumference of the skirt or pant or top hem. Once fused in place, all the loose threads are fused into place. You don’t have to do a double fold on the hem. You don’t have to zigzag or otherwise finish the hem. Just fuse, fold, press, stitch. On a knit, I stitch with a double needle and wooly nylon in the bobbin. On a woven, I just single-needle stitch. Voila!! Love!!

I don’t think tricot is required. I’ve also done it with bias strips of Pellon SF-101, or even on-grain strips. If my hem is perfectly straight, as on a pair of pants, I’d cut on-grain. But if the hem has a curve to it, I want bias-cut to be able to move with the curve when fusing. The important part is the fuse. I want fusible interfacing to grab all those thread ends on the cut edge and keep them from raveling once my garment is finished.

As I was preparing to sew, I searched my thread stash for the perfect thread color. I found one small spool that had about a tenth of the thread remaining. My nearest thread stores (rhymes with “hate-that-store-ann’s) are ten miles away in either direction. I did NOT want to interrupt my motivation to drive up there and deal with them. (I should write a blog post on my feelings about coupons being required to get a decent price. Why can’t stores just set reasonable prices and do away with the coupon BS?!)

So I started sewing with a beige in the bobbin and a cream on the top. Yeah, yeah, the cream was near at hand, and the beige was a bobbin already half-full. Each seam allowance was zigzagged, pressed, and topstitched. Anytime I finished a seam, I’d change to the nearly empty spool of thread, topstitch the seam, then pull it out an inch from the needle and clip. And look at what was left on my spool after sewing the last stitch. Bwah, hah, hah – I tricked Jo-Ann’s.

And I’d say that’s a sign this top was supposed to be finished on Saturday before going out to dinner with friends. No, I didn’t wear it to dinner. It’s still fricking winter in Northeast Ohio, even though we got a breath of spring the past two days. I asked the Jazzman to take photos of me on the back porch, so I could show you that the Royal Star Magnolia blossoms are budding. Alas, getting decent light on the subject meant you barely see the little blobs of white in the background on the first photo. But there is green. There’s lots and lots of green. I may be able to live until spring comes to stay. In the alternative, I think I’ll head to Singapore and Bali for three weeks. ☺

You know how I get when a trip is upcoming; I want to sew-sew-sew and wear all me-made garments on the trip.

For my upcoming trip to Bali, the travelers on the tour have been warned to be prepared to be dinner for lots of mosquitos carrying lots of “bugs.” I’m taking a strong DEET mosquito repellent spray, plus mosquito repellent wipes, plus a repellent with eucalyptus oil, plus a product called Permetrhin that you spray on your clothes before traveling.

Here’s the description of Sawyer Permethrin Insect Repellent Spray:
“Permethrin, is a synthetic molecule similar to pyrethrum that is taken from the chrysanthemum flower. When applied to clothing, Sawyer Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent binds to the fabric, eliminating the risk of over-exposure to the skin. Permethrin is odorless when dry and will not stain or damage clothing, fabrics, plastics, finished surfaces or any of your outdoor gear. This 24-oz container of Sawyer insect repellent employs an easy-to-use trigger spray for effective, effortless application. Applied to clothing and other fabrics, each application lasts through six washings or 42 days of UV exposure.”

Although the literature indicates Permethrin will not harm fabrics, even silks, I’m hesitant to spray it on expensive tops. So i wanted to make a couple of lightweight cool tops that I didn’t care about damaging (if the literature lied).

I dug a couple of old pieces out of my stash—a lightweight turquoise and white pinstripe seersucker and a white linen with a tiny black pinstripe running lengthwise. More on the linen in a couple of days.

I dug through my pattern stash and chose StyleArc’s Courtney top to make in the seersucker. It sews up quickly and as soon as it was done, I threw it on with a pair of white cropped knit pants. I was instantly in love.

Here’s the pattern review:

Pattern Description: An everyday top with interesting design lines

Pattern Sizing: Misses 4-30. I ordered a 16.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Typical StyleArc instructions – short, sweet, and to the point.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? The design lines on the top front and the cut of the neckline make for a very flattering top.

Fabric Used: Pinstripe Seersucker from my stash.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I’m 5’8″. Added 2″ to the length. I’m a 38DD and did not make any changes to the bust! Yea!!

You may have seen that I wrote a review of this in January when I made it up in a knit. After wearing the knit version a couple of times, I really felt like I was wearing my pajamas. Go down a size when making it in knit.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? This is my second time around and I’ve already cut out a third in linen.

Conclusion: Perfect lightweight top for my upcoming Bali Fiber Tour. Easy make – cut it out the night before, and have a new top before noon the next day. This is a keeper!