Sew: StyleArc Hedy Designer Dress

I'm surprised there are not more Hedy dresses on the interwebs. It's such a great pattern for a dress that's a bit different. I couldn't work out in my head if it was going to work in a stripe so I decided to just go for it. It is only fabric. And I'm so pleased with how it worked out! There was no stripe matching at all for the top. The only thing I tried to match was the side seams in the skirt section.

I opted for the neckline facing and have only tacked it down at the seams. I may go back and topstitch it down all the way around at 1 cm. I'll see how much it annoys me. I chose not to include the pockets as I didn't want any extra bulk in that area.

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Hedy Designer Dress, size 18
Fabric: Tessuti Fabrics Dusty Liner Blue viscose jersey
Modifications: Lengthened short version by 10cm, omitted pockets
See Also: Thornberry | Sew Jean Margaret | Catherine Daze

There will be another of these. I'd like a plain colour one. Probably black or charcoal. Of course.

Sew: Style Arc Jessica Dress

I'd been planning to try the Style Arc Jessica Dress for some time but wasn't in a real rush. I then saw Marjorie was giving away her copy of the pattern and she kindly offered to send it to me. Thanks again Marjorie. The Jessica Dress suddenly jumped to the top of the queue!

The Jessica Dress is described as "Great easy to wear pull on knit jersey dress with up to the minute twist front feature that is flattering and eye catching." It is a relatively straight forward dress to sew with no major tricky bits. The pattern Marjorie had was a size 14, so I decided to keep it that size. I probably would have bought my usual Style Arc size 16, so it is worth going down a size or two. The neckline has quite a plunge on it and I'm happy to wear a singlet but it's worth considering.

The fabric is a viscose, polyester and spandex knit from Tessuti Fabrics online. My love for black and white is well documented so I bought a few metres of this knit as well as the small dot knit. Out of this print, I have this dress, a Mandy Boat tee and an Ali Knit skirt. What can I say, I'm not afraid of a coordinating wardrobe! This knit is probably not slinky enough for this pattern. It is also a bit too heavy. There is a lot of fabric in that front twist and the whole dress feels bulky. Also, the asymmetry of this dress bugs me. There are pleats on one side but not the other so the hem is crooked and the fabric pulls across the waist strangely. I will be interested to see how it works in a lighter, slinkier knit.

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Jessica Dress, size 14
Fabric: Small Squiggle Knit, from Tessuti Fabrics Online
Alterations: None
See Also: Busy Lizzie | Thewallinna | Cashmerette | Allison.C

Overall, I'm not that pleased with this dress due to the poor fabric to pattern match. I will wear it because it's easy to wear but it will probably end up in the Savers pile next year. I prefer it will a black jacket due to the bulky top.

You win some, you lose some!

L x

Sew: Style Arc Simone Cardi

Another successful Style Arc cardigan! I got this pattern, the Simone cardigan, free when I bought my beloved Harper jacket pattern. I wasn't that interested in it until I spotted this beautiful pink and black patterned merino knit at The Fabric Store. Something clicked in my sewing mind and I knew the fabric and pattern would be a perfect combination.

The Style Arc Simone Cardigan is described as "the clever cardigan pattern" that has been designed so the drape creates the pocket. It can be made with or without buttons. I made it without the buttons as I will never button it up.

Despite the fact that the pocket looks a bit tricky, it was exceptionally easy to put together. The instructions are limited but you don't really need them much. Just follow the notches and look at the pictures. I debated about whether to interface the neck band or not and ended up not as I thought it might be too thick. It is fine without but I would interface thinner or slinkier knits. This merino knit has a bit of body to it.

From the instructions it is not clear that you have to cut two neck band pieces. You do need two of them and there is a seam at the centre back. It is strikingly obvious that the neck band is too short to make it all the way around but I did still hesitate. Take it from me, you need two!

If I was to make this cardigan again I would size down one size, or sew it with larger seam allowances. I feel that it is a touch too large, especially across the shoulders. That could be the style but I'm not used to over-sized styles and I keep wanting to pull it up.

Besides that, it is a perfect cardigan to liven up a black tee and jeans. I wore it yesterday to the sewing meet up at Little Creatures. It was great to meet some new faces and catch up with friends.

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Simone Cardigan, size 16
Fabric: Printed merino knit from The Fabric Store
See Also: Thornberry | What Katie Sews

Mr Sew Brunswick photo bombed my photo shoot! Can you see him in the shed window? Our house and yard is an absolute mess while we prepare for a major house renovation. We ran out of "nice" space to take photos, so in front of the shed it was!

L x

Sew: Style Arc Harper Jacket

Some fabric purchases don't even make it to the stash. They go straight from the pre-wash to the cutting table. This beautiful mustard/gold merino knit from The Fabric Store was one of those purchases. I just love the colour, even though I wasn't certain it would suit my colouring. Nothing that a slick of red lipstick won't fix!

The only thing that held the project up was trying to find a matching overlocker thread. I had no success at Clegs and was too lazy to shop around so I decided to French seam ALL the seams. It took a bit of extra time but was so worth it. I also played around with the finish of the external edges. I turned them over twice and then top stitched with a long and narrow zig-zag. The bottom hem is turned to the inside but the neckline edge is turned to the outside. Once the drape is hanging it flips out and the inside becomes the outside. The instructions have you leave the edge raw or simply overlock the edges. This fabric is quite fine so I decided to enclose the edges. Also, leaving the edges raw messes with me too much!

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Harper Jacket, size 16
Fabric: Mustard merino wool knit from The Fabric Store
Alterations: Omitted hook & eye
Also wearing: Tessuti Anita Ponti Pants | Country Road Tee | Elk necklace | Ecco flats
See also: Clothing Engineer 

The only change I would make in future would be to possibly lengthen it by 2.5cm or so. Otherwise, a great simple pattern that I really like. I see a few variations in my future!

L x

Sew: Pleated Style Arc Ali Knit Skirt

I like to keep it real around here at Sew Brunswick. I really don't like this skirt I made last weekend but I decided to post the photos anyway so others can learn from my mistakes. The decision to use the pleats on both the front and back of the skirt was a very, very bad decision. The pattern is designed for a flat back piece with a pleated front. To spice it up, you can have a plain pencil skirt, like my floral scuba skirt, by using the back pattern piece in both the front and back. Or you can use the front pleated pattern piece twice and get pleats in the front and back. It's quite a versatile pattern for such a simple style. I do plan on using this pattern again, and again, as I think it's going to be a great wardrobe staple. Just without pleats in the back!

I thought putting the pleats on the back would avoid having the visible undie line and avoid showing all the lumps and bumps. It has just drawn even more attention to my backside, in addition to adding bulk! Lesson learnt.

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Ali Knit Skirt, size 16
Fabric: Medium weight black ponti from Tessuti

I'm planing on making this again with just the pleated front in a black ponti to replace this one and also a charcoal knit, maybe a wool knit, to wear with boots and tights during winter.

You live and you learn!

L x

Sew: Style Arc Ali Knit Skirt

There's not much to say about this skirt. The fabric is a remnant from this dress I made last year for Mr Sew Brunswick's 40th birthday party. I only wore the dress twice before donating it to the school fete trash & treasure. I think I overheated way too much and was traumatised by the experience. I never wanted to wear it again. A skirt is a much better option for this fabulous floral scuba knit, that just doesn't breathe. It's a bit shorter than I would have liked, due to fabric restrictions, but I plan on wearing it with tights and boots during winter. An oversized black cardigan would be great too!

Project Details
Pattern: Style Arc Ali Knit Skirt, size 16
Fabric: Floral scuba knit from Lincraft (remnant from this dress)

L x