Sunday 14 February 2016

StyleArc Ricki top

The cross over back of the Style Arc Ricki top really appealed to me and I figured if I left off the sleeves it would make a great summer top.  

I actually had a long sleeve version cut out in a beautiful Tessuti ponti, so I basted that together to check the fit.  Turns out I wasted that lovey fabric because it needed quite a bit of work to fit me.


This is a size 12 and I found that the bust darts were too high for me, the weight of overlay at the back pulled the shoulder seams back too far, made the neck ride up very high and I had significant gaping at the front and back neck.


I dropped the bust darts by 1 inch (and they're still not quite right). I added 1 inch to the shoulder seams at the back and removed 1 inch from the front so that the seam sat correctly on my shoulders.  I also lowered the front neckline by 3.5 inches and lowered the armholes by 3/4 inch.

I also took 2cm (yes, I mix imperial and metric) from the front neckline and about 1 inch from the back neckline to stop the gaping.  The final alternation I made was to add some gentle shaping to the side seams as this is a very boxy style.


The photos show that I should have done an FBA and the cross over back doesn't sit as neatly as I would like, BUT I really like this top.  It's a great little summer top and has been worn more than I expected.  I have a big stack of Style Arc patterns and I'm really keen to start sewing them up.