Style Arc Bonnie

Style Arc is really making me happy these days. Their Bonnie pattern has two views - one is a plain and very versatile top with darts - like this one here. The other has dolman sleeves that are gathered up with tabs at the shoulders, no darts. Both button down the back.

The size 16 in this pattern line has been fitting me really well for tops and dresses. Technically I should be using a 14, but I like my things looser. The only fit alteration on this one was lowering the darts by 3/8". Because of a fabric shortage, the back opening was eliminated and replaced by a center back seam. It would be absolutely possible to make this simple top even simpler by cutting the back on the fold. It pulls on over the head easily.

The hem is finished with a facing that they recommend you interface. I left it off in this case but depending on the fabric used for future tops, might put it in. An invisible hand hem finishes it off.

The facings are supposed to be stitched down about an inch and a quarter from the edge, which would look great in something like a linen, but this fabric is a fine lawn and so I opted to just do a narrow topstitched edge. 

The pattern as drafted hits below my waist but is quite short. To my eye and on my body, this length looks great with wide pants (or any wide bottom) and is a good companion for the Style Arc Bob pants.

The shoulders fit well, but the armholes are a tad big and can show a little too much when I move around. I'm not likely to wear this in public without a jacket, so I will fix that for next time and not worry about it on this one.

Here's a closeup of the had-to-have-it print. Da Vinci, Seurat, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Manet, the gang is all here! When I ordered it, I thought it was going to be a quilting cotton and I only bought enough to make a bucket hat. It's a lovely fine lawn, though, and by adding a center back seam there was just enough to make this top. According to Style Arc's calculations, you can sew this up with as little as about 3/4 yard of 58" fabric.

No drag lines. With a few tweaks this will become my basic sleeveless shell. Redrafting a slightly tighter/higher armhole and lengthening by about half an inch ought to do it!

I've been sewing a lot lately and am way behind on doing the write-ups on the summer-y stuff. These blog entries are my notes, so I need to get caught up. The first cool weather item has already been sewn!