Purple Print Skirt and Coordinating Tops

I'm back from my UK visit (why does it take so long to get over jet lag the older you get?) and really want to get caught up with this sewing blog so I'm bundling together 3 finished items in this post especially as I have made all of these patterns before.

I recently bought this purple printed fabric, I really loved the design and colours in it and bought enough for a skirt and a dress (I think!).  On closer look I realised I needed to be a bit careful with pattern placement to avoid bullseyes in unwanted places which restricted my pattern choices a bit.

I also didn't want to waste fabric by chopping up the print too much so I picked a Burda skirt pattern (03/2009 - 109, made previously here) with a side zip and a slight a-line so that no back seam/split is needed to be able to walk in it.  I decided it was safest to place the purple eye shapes at the sides and completely by accident the skirt width is just about right so they meet and form a pattern at both side seams.

I inserted an invisible zip and the waistband is secured with a hook and bar.  Although the fabric is some mystery lightweight synthetic I lined it with purple silk so that it still feels nice and cool to wear.

This print offers a lot of options for co-ordinating tops and I think the colours make it wearable in cooler weather too, but for now I have made 2 short sleeve knit tops to go with it.  

This is yet another version (#4!) of the top half of Burda 08/2011-126 in a dark purple jersey.  You can see the first version here.

This top is made from Style Arc's Marita dress pattern, again made several times and also as a sleeveless top.

This time I decided I wanted extended shoulders which was very easy to do on the back and slightly less easy on the front due to the unusually shaped pattern piece, but hopefully the photos below show what I did - once you identify the shoulder and armscye it's quite easy.  Sorry if it is confusing that I took the pictures upside down so the neckline is towards the front of the photos.

Adjustment to the back, simple enough.

Adjustment to the front which is a single pattern piece.

I am still struggling with taking and adjusting photos since my computer upgrade so that you can see the details, it's driving me nuts, but I will not be beaten!

Style Arc Marita Dress

I've made this before so I won't repeat myself by talking about the construction - my original post is here.  It is a really quick to make dress that looks a lot more complicated than it is (oh, I just saw I wrote the same thing last time!).

Now that I've worn it a lot I can definitely say it is most successful in lightweight jerseys, which to be fair to Style Arc is what they suggest.  This is a polka dot print ITY jersey and is ideal for this dress.

I found on my previous version that the cowl neckline has a tendency to show the wrong side of the fabric so for this one I extended the cowl facing, not really understanding the pattern so the facing is asymmetrical and a right mess on the inside, but it seems to work!

Style Arc Marita Dress(es & top)

This pattern claims to be a 1 hour sew and for once I think it's actually true. It's certainly very fast and a very clever design, it looks a lot more complicated than it is.  Sorry for the picture heavy post but I have made 3 versions of this so lots to show you - a New Year special offer!

Style Arc Marita Dress

That said I got stuck very early on largely because the instructions refer to the back neck facing piece which on the paper pattern is called a collar.  Once I looked at the line drawing of the back of the dress and realised there was a collar and smacked myself on the forehead it was simple.  I was trying to fold it in like a facing, doh!  I didn't find the diagram of the whole shoulder seam/ facing construction to be very helpful, although I knew what they were getting at as it is a finish I've used in Burda and Vogue, so I took some photos of these steps.

The facing/collar is folded right sides out, stitched to the back neckline and the seam allowances pressed down towards the body of the dress

Pin shoulder seams leaving facing/collar free for the moment

Fold the front facing over the back collar/facing and pin.  You need to get the collar edge right in the fold to get a neat finish at the end

Stitch and finish seam

Unfold the front facing, this is how it looks on the inside

And this is how it looks on the outside

The first two versions of this pattern were made using fabric I have a ton of because I bought the end of the bolt in both cases.  They are both wearable muslins, but useful to determine the adjustments I needed to make in the final version.  My pattern is a size 10.

Version 1 Teal doubleknit
Style Arc helpfully provide a swatch of fabric they recommend using and in this case it is quite a lightweight drapy knit.  While I am happy wearing such a thin knit on my top half I find it too flimsy for my bottom half in a straight silhouette.  So some experimentation was in order.  Doubleknit is not the recommended fabric so unsurprisingly this version was a little bit tight, especially the sleeves and the drape is a lot more structured and asymmetrical than it is supposed to be because the side with the tuck behaves a lot differently to the side with a dart.

Version 2 Crazy ITY print top
This fabric is pretty close to the recommended weight.  My friend in Shanghai bought this for me and I plan to make another version of this maxi dress in the summer.  I realise that the scale of the print is all wrong for a long sleeved top, it might work as a sleeveless version for summer, but for now I will wear it as a layering top.  I widened the sleeves on this version and was much happier with the fit of them, the drape also does what it is supposed to in this lighter fabric.  In a plainer fabric I think this will be a great top either with or without sleeves.

Version 3 Sensible ITY print dress
Armed with the things I'd learnt from my two experiments I cut into some ITY knit with a geometric print in great winter colours.

This is a great pattern and I am sure I will use it again.  Compared to my usual Burda magazine patterns indie patterns that need shipping are quite expensive but I feel I've got good value for money here.  It's quick to make, works as a top or a dress, the sleeves can be swapped out for shorter ones or left sleeveless.  3 in a row is probably enough for the moment, but I'm sure it won't be long before this comes out again.