Style Arc Nina Cardigan; #cosycardigan challenge

I've had this ribbed-knit in my stash for some time, bought by the kilo at Abakhan in Preston.  The cosy cardigan gave me the nudge to get it sewn.  I wanted a pattern which had a bit of shaping to it, so chose the StyleArc Nina cardigan.





It has a fitted waist and then the square peplum makes a waterfall front.  I cut a size
10, because although this is for a size 36.5" and I'm 37.5" I thought the shoulders and waist would be a better fit and there is plenty of room.  I didn't want to have overlocked exposed edges and didn't think the rib-knit would hem effectively, so I have left the front edges and hems raw.  I usually hate raw edges but this seemed like the only solution.  It looks OK, but I don't suppose it will stand up well to washing.  I managed to squeeze it from 1.5m of fabric.

StyleArc patterns are stylish and this is no different, however, as I have mentioned before the very brief instructions make them difficult for beginners.

 

You can wear the style with or without a belt.

The sleeves were too long and I took them up by 1 1/4" and also narrowed them by 3/8".  I twin needled the sleeve hem.

The back is fairly plain but fits quite nicely at the waist.  Overall, I like it (especially the colour) and might make it again with the right fabric.



Style Arc Stella Coat No 2

Sewing has taken a bit of a back seat because my College has had Ofsted  in, and for those of you in the UK you will know how traumatic that is.  9 days of stress!   On-top of  the terrible events in Manchester and London, and the results of the election it has been quite a month.




I finished my second style arc Stella Coat a few weeks ago, but have just got behind on my blogging.

After a very sensible camel cashmere version in January, I wanted to make a summery linen version.  Is this too crazy?  It definitely is a bit of sunshine and the linen fabric is quite a good choice.  This is a viscose linen, so all of the look, without all of the crumple.  I don't think it is still available.

I cut a size 12, reducing the shoulders by 5/8" and raising the waist by 1".  I wanted a jacket rather than a coat so I took around18" from the length.  This gave me a little problem with the pocket bags which dropped below the hem length.  I ended up solving this by chain tacking the bags up.



 

I just interfaced the collar lapels, and perhaps used a slightly too firm an interfacing in contrast to the rest of the jacket.  I probably would give the whole jacket a lighter interfacing if I was to make it again.

All the seams are top-stitched, though it doesn't show up much on this busy fabric.

I really like the little stand up collar and it is quite easy to achieve, so long as you get it level.  I added a couple of shoulder cigarettes (2 rolled up oblongs 9" x 7") to add a bit more structure without the more substantial structure you get from shoulder pads.

I like this pattern a lot, but this instructions are extremely minimal (even worse than Burda) so definitely not good for beginners.   The jacket is fully lined, this time in a champagne lining.

Just a heads up, this is the last time you will see long hair having a bad day for a while.  I have had it all chopped off.  The funny thing is that now I have short hair, I am completely rethinking my wardrobe.  The 50s fitted vibe seems less appropriate and actually the dress I was wearing when I had my hair cut which is Vogue Rachel Comey seems much more apt!  Anyway  the time I save on washing and drying my hair will mean more time for sewing!

First sew of 2017 Style Arc Stella Coat

A good start to 2017 sewing I think.  This is the project I worked on (amongst a few others) over my Christmas break and just finished this morning (when there was very poor light sorry).

I wanted a long-line camel wool jacket with a trench coat feel.  I found the fabric at the Harrogate Knitting and stitching show on one of the cheaper stalls.  It was £10 a metre and the stallholder had no information about its composition but he set fire to it and from the burning hair smell it definitely has a high wool content.

I feel pretty proud of this one; I think it looks almost ready-to-wear.  The pattern is Style Arc Stella.  StyleArc is an Australian company, you can buy some patterns from Amazon and some pdfs from Etsy, but not this coat, so I had to order from Australia.  It cost £20 including postage and I got a really nice blouse pattern free as well, so not a bad price.  I really love that they include an ideal fabric sample, very helpful.
 

I line it with some fabulous Jacquard lining from Clothspot (no longer available).  I just want to put a word in for this website; lovely fabric, well photographed and my order came next day (even though close to Christmas) and packaged most beautifully.  I will definitely use them again.

The lining was double sided so I used both.

The fabric was a little thick for this pattern and I was a bit worried about this, so I used lots of topstitching on all the seams, and collar etc.   I think this makes the coat and makes it look much more professional.  I love the stand up collar and the yoke detail.   The thickness also meant that turning the belt was a nightmare and literally took me hours!

You may just be able to see I struggled with the topstitching over the thickest part of the collar lapel join and ended up with one skipped stitch.

The key to success with this coat was pressing and using my clapper to do this.  When I bought my clapper I thought it was expensive, but I can honestly say it is one of my most used tools and worth every penny.  You can see below how just one press completely changes the collar edges.

 

So overall the coat is a hit and I have already cut a spring linen version.   It is also the first part of my SWAP challenge.  At first I thought the rules were a bit complicated, but I do like a challenge and really want to be part of this.  The challenge ends 30 April 2016.  So basically I will be making the following 11 garments using a maximum of 8 patterns which need to match with each other:

1 SyleArc Stella Coat

2 x burda style jackets 6901

2 Colette Selene skirts

21SewOver it Joan dresses (but adapted for knit)

2 McCall 7249 knit tops

1 Helmi tunic dress

1 named tyni cigarette trousers

1 sewoverit pussy bow blouse (or StyleArc free blouse to be decided)

If I end up not liking any of these I will replace with other ideas.

I will be using the following fabrics (at least definitely this colour palette; dusky pink (nude), mustard, brown, taupe and duck-egg

I will also be posting my 9 patterns choice for that challenge next blog.  More plans than time I'm afraid.  I'm happily reading  and watching the plans of many others, are any of you entering the SWAP?