Sew Chaotically! ~ Fall Linen

In further sewing room clean up, I found a remnant of this lux linen, purchased from B&J on a lovely trip to New York a few years ago and partially used creating this Japanese Sewing Pattern top, I never got around to blogging about almost a year ago ~  The top is nice and has had good wear.  The material turned out to be a little thick for the gathers along the collar and I would make the placket differently were I to sew up another.  Also, beware the narrowness of the arm cuffs.  They are close to being too tight on me and I don't think I have particularly large arms!!!

The material is almost iridescent, with a bronzy brown thread running through several shades of green.  I found I had just enough to stitch up the Teddy Top from Style Arc.  I made a size 10 with no modifications.  

The pattern went together well.  I had no trouble with the collar or front neckline as some reviews had mentioned.  However, the instructions are SPARSE!!!  Because of this, these patterns may not be the best choice for a beginning sewist!

I like that there is a graceful swing to the back of the garment without a lot of extra fabric in the front.

Speaking of linen and patterns perfectly suited for it ~ there are many free and really great patterns available from FABRICS-STORE.com with good information on their blog, The ---------- Thread, not to mention their selection of incredible linen!!!  I have loved their Mariana Jacket, both in the wearing and the making, that I stitched up back in 2019.

Check that welt pocket detail! Pretty impressive for a free pattern, no?

 

Early last spring I made two Paola Workwear Jackets, another of their free patterns.  One in a very durable medium weight linen and another in a rather odd brocade (?) that for reasons I am now a bit unclear about, caught my eye when shopping in Walthamstow back in 2017.  As per their name, these jackets are more of a Worker Jacket style.  I adjusted the size and placement of the pockets to suit my fancy.  They stitched up easily.  In fact, the instructions for both these patterns, which include plenty of clear pictures on the blog, are aces!  Much better than anything offered by Style Arc, for which you pay $14 to $18.  Just say'n!!!

Happy chaotic fall sewing! - les