I just realized I made this dress, Instagrammed it, reviewed it on PatternReview, and never came back to my blog to share it! It's now a month old at least -- so here is a slightly delayed review of the Lacey Dress from Style Arc.

In quick summary: I liked it after a few alterations.


I started this pattern because I thought it would be a great design to highlight some striped fabric I picked up in Toronto in June (at King Textiles)



It does indeed look wonderful in stripes! But there were a few small issues with my fabric choice. It is a bit too stiff to work with a gathered skirt. I tried it, and it was quite dreadful. So I quickly unpicked it and converted to a pleated skirt. Fortunately for me, the amount of gathering I need for the skirt to fit the bodice was an even number - 6" exactly. So I folded out two pleats on each side of both the front and back skirts, matching the inner pleat to the seam of the centre panel to keep things looking tidy. This skirt falls much better with some nice crisp pleats!


I also found that there was still too much fabric in the waistline and perhaps that is again down to the body of the fabric. However, I pinched out a crescent of fabric between the underarm area and the top of the pocket, with the widest part being one inch at the waistline seam. Once I'd basted that and tested it, I stitched it down permanently and much prefer the look this way. I'll go back and make those changes on my pattern pieces for next time for sure -- this is such a fun style and so comfortable to wear I am sure I'll make another one in more suitable fabric!


This is a very cool dress to wear in the muggy weather we've been having because it just floats around the body. It was fairly simple to make - no closures and the side panel/sleeve is a neat feature. I really like how the centre panels at front and back make it easy to add little touches like stripes going in opposite directions - it would also highlight some colour blocking nicely I think. This is the first Style Arc pattern I've made which fits me well, and I am very pleased with it!

Here, finally, at the last moment, is my own project for the Literary Sewing Circle!
I had intended to make a dress inspired by the imagery of Calamity's restored cashew grove, with this seemingly perfect green & yellow leafy fabric. But somehow I just wasn't feeling it! I couldn't get it going. I will have to try again later on.



So I switched projects altogether -- I had this Style 4037, dated 1983, in my thrifted pattern stash, and I thought the loose flowy nature of it reflected Ifeoma's style.


 Plus I had the perfect vintage fabric in my stash as well, likely also from the 80s! It was given to me by a friend's mother, and when I look at it, it makes me think of the final chapters of The New Moon's Arms. In particular, the part in which  Calamity is taking Agway back out to sea, in the dark and the wind, and she falls into the water and is rescued and pushed back into the boat... this fabric makes me think of wind and rain and waves and maybe even a glimpse of seals in there somewhere... Thus, we have the Ifeoma influenced "Storm at Sea" dress!





This seemed to do the trick. I cut a 14 (the biggest size in my thrifted pattern) rather than my usual 16, adding only 1/2" to each side seam at the waist. It fits quite nicely. There was a centre back zipper called for as well, but I think that the little bit extra helped, as I basted the back seam shut and tried it on and it fit over my head and waist just fine. So I omitted the zip. Which is always nice - not because they are that difficult, but because they are expensive! In this latest ridiculous round of international posturing and tariff setting, sewing notions are rising in price quite a lot, so saving myself the cost of one more zip is getting more important.






I cut it fairly long and decided not to hem it much as I liked the longer, fuller look (and it feels great to wear, the fabric hangs and swings so nicely). The patch pockets were another change - I only noticed after sewing them on to the front skirt that the pattern had them sitting over the side seam, half on the front & half on the back. But the drawing doesn't look like that, and anyhow, I don't need big saggy pockets on my hips. And they are big and droopy, very 80s vibe. When I put the finished dress on, though, I found I didn't quite like the amount of bag in them. So I pleated out the centre top of each pocket by an inch and stitched it down by hand, only about 2 inches down into the pocket. They're very deep so it's not very noticeable but it does keep the tops of the pockets from flopping out too much.



This was a pretty straightforward project other than the few adjustments I made to bring it up to my current tastes. . Now that I have a better sense of sizing I might make it again and keep the zipper in and make the waist more fitted to see how I like that. And I'd definitely make sure the gathered skirt wasn't gathered at the side seams - forgot all about leaving a little bit of smooth at the sides to improve the appearance of a gathered skirt. But I really love the front panel and squared neckline that results. You don't really notice the separate panel when it's all one print like this but the other views highlight it more.

Today is already our final day of the Summer Literary Sewing Circle focusing on The New Moon's Arms! I hope you've had the chance to read the book, and the inspiration posts, and are already getting lots of ideas for a project of your own. Remember you can add your thoughts to any of these discussion posts at any time, whenever you've read the book and have something to say :)

The project linkup will be added to the bottom of this post: as soon as you are done your project, just pop a link to your post into the linkup and we will all be able to visit your blog/instagram etc. and explore your creation -- remember, it can be sewn, or knitted, crocheted, embroidered... any textile art that you practice.


Today's post also gives us the chance to talk about our reading experience a little more. If you haven't yet had a chance, check out our first discussion post for some specific questions and feedback from readers -- also take a look at the interview with Nalo Hopkinson and see if it raises any questions for you.

Did you enjoy this novel? Did you have a favourite character? Was there a theme which particularly resonated? What part of it stood out for you as your inspiration for your project? Was there anything you didn't like about this novel? Had you heard of it prior to this readalong? Did you recognize any of the character quirks in the story? What did you think of the mix of realism & fabulism?

Here are some of my musings on this novel. I enjoyed it more on the second read - I first read it quite a few years ago. I liked it then but found Calamity even more interesting this time around, as I age myself and get a lot closer to her stage of life. The setting and the interplay of the characters was what I really liked about this novel - not everyone is perfect, in fact, pretty much nobody is. Each of them have their flaws, but you end up liking them anyway. Or at least understanding them.

And I enjoyed the mythological aspects -- the sea people, the slave narrative, the folktales. Some readers don't resonate with that as much, but I liked the way it's all woven in together. I also found the mix of characters fascinating. Often in novels you get a circumscribed circle of people, in the same social and economic circles. Others may appear but only as foils for the main characters. In this novel I felt like people from all levels of society were true characters in the book, from Calamity to Evelyn, and even from Mrs. Soledad to Caroline Sookdeo-Grant. It was a wide variety of people, of all socio-economic classes, of differing racial or sexual identities. It felt completely natural and realistic, and made me a little sad once I realized how infrequently this happens in a novel.

What really caught my imagination was Calamity's "finding" ability returning at menopause. I loved this idea, and Nalo Hopkinson's explanation of it in her interview. It is one of these finding incidents that has caught my fancy for my project inspiration. When Calamity returns home with Evelyn & Samuel, to the reappearance of her father's cashew grove, her shock is complete. She says:

"The cashew trees shushed the night. Mumma used to tell me that the sound they made was their way of reminding bad little girls to go to sleep when night come. So many nights of falling to sleep with the crash of the sea coming in one window and the whispering of the cashew grove from the other."

 And I can't get that image out of my head - it feels real to me, as if I can hear it and smell it as it stands there. So I'm planning on a summer dress from a green/yellow leafy print cotton voile; it resembles the colour of a cashew apple, in a way, and makes me think of those rustling leaves. I'm not 100% sure which pattern I'll be using yet; I'll have to decide this weekend and then get to work! Possibilities include Vogue 8728 or maybe Simplicity 8384 or Butterick 5209 Have you decided yet?

This dress is all business in the front, party in the back. To be known heretofore as my Vogue Mullet Dress!



I bought this pattern a while back, even though it's not my usual silhouette. I made it up last fall, just as it got too cold to wear it. So I've finally managed to get some photos of it in its natural setting, and can finally share this one with you all.


Fabric choice was the hardest part of this dress: I couldn't decide what to combine but I knew I wanted a contrast back. And I wanted to use a drapey fabric so it wouldn't stick out too much on my short frame. One day I was in the fabric store and these two rayons were side by side on a sale table. Cue the angels singing!



It was a fairly straightforward sew, aside from the agony of carefully cutting all this shifty rayon. There are no seams or darts in the front, and one seam and a neck opening with a button & loop in the back.


I cut the ruffle on the bias so that the windowpane check was diagonal only on the ruffle. Just one more touch... though it did make hemming it a bit of a pain! I had to hang this for a day or two just to let everything relax enough to even it all out before hemming.


I like this quite a bit more than I'd expected (it even has side seam pockets!). The only problem I have with it is that the shoulder/overbust area is quite tight. I'm not sure if it's the design or if I didn't size it correctly, or if I should have shortened the bodice slightly between shoulder and bust to raise the bust point (a frequent change I make). It is wearable as it is, but if I were to remake it I would study that area more closely, and would definitely increase the bicep diameter of the sleeves. I'd also scoop out the front neckline a bit as it sits a little high and so has a funny little sag in it.



It's fun to wear though, and I do love both these fabrics. Good thing I have a little left of both of them...time to make a print-blocked top next, I think!




My husband and I had a lot of fun taking these photos in the garden at Churchill Circle - literally a traffic circle in our neighbourhood. The local Horticultural Society takes care of it and it is lovely. There were tons of tall lilies and phlox blooming so it also smelled divine. Of course, because it's the centre of a traffic circle, you also get interesting vehicles passing by!

Today's post is all about some quick inspiration for your makes from our Literary Sewing Circle pick, The New Moon's Arms. Have you finished it yet? Got part-way in? What do you think?

I'm taking a little bit of a different approach from our last inspiration post full of possible patterns drawn from the novel's themes. Today's focus is on some of the descriptions of clothing in the story. Hopkinson uses people's appearance and fashion choices to say something about them - their style reflects their personality. Here a few examples, with some ready-to-wear designs to inspire you to think about which style you could incorporate into your own wardrobe. Can you tell who you are most like, stylistically?


Thank heaven I'd put on some decent clothes to come to the hospital: good pants, the fitted cream blouse with the cap sleeves, a bit of lipstick (Calamity)

Frankie Blouse from Unique Vintage

The woman looked a little younger than me. Probably dougla, with that flowing black hair and those full African lips. Speaky-spokey too. Come from money. And wasn't that a Chanel suit? In this heat? (Caroline Sookdeo-Grant)

Chanel Spring 2016

He was wearing perfectly faded jeans, a stylin' pair of leather sandals polished to a fare-thee-well, and an impeccably ironed navy blue cotton shirt that made his dark skin gleam. It just wasn't right for a man to be so well turned out.  (Orso)

Navy Oxford from The Gap

She was wearing a cotton skirt in beige, A-line, with a tasteful lace trim at its hem. A matching t-shirt. A crocheted cotton shawl, cream colour, as were the espadrilles on her feet. (Evelyn)

Amur skirt from Moda Operandi

Castaner wedges from Moda Operandi

Her dress was shapeless as usual, but this time it was a stylish shapeless, in a nubbly indigo silk that brought out her colouring. Even her sandals were pretty. (Ifeoma)

Bobeau Dress from Nordstrom

Caslon Dress from Nordstrom

Hey look - I opened it up and the presentation is just lovely! It's carefully wrapped in tissue, and includes a thank you note, a tag to sew in to your make when you're done, the appropriate needles and in this case also the clear elastic recommended in the pattern,  plus fabric and thread. And also a nice big layout schematic!




The kit was a real treat, and the box is sturdy and very handy for keeping the leftover fabric and pattern in -- I have it all tucked away now for my next go round of this pattern! Since Tilly uses heavy paper for her patterns, I chose to trace my size, so those pattern pieces are now neatly tucked away in the box as well. It fits on a shelf in my sewing space and keeps it all tidy and together. I like!

And now on to the dress itself!


I hadn't thought of making this pattern previously - I'm not sure why, as dresses, and especially dresses with big pockets, are right in my wheelhouse!


But with this offer, and the wonderful, quality knits included, I knew I had to get to work on this dress. It was fairly simple to sew up; I put it together on a Sunday afternoon with only one break. The hardest parts were keeping the points matched up, and that blasted neckband! I never can apply a neckband properly, no matter how many times I try. It's always too long or too short and I have puckering on either the band or the dress. Well, after the third try here, I told myself the tiny gathers on the front edge and back neck were good enough and just went with it!

excuse the funny expression - the sun was so bright I was just trying to keep my eyes open!

I had a few problems -- I wasn't sure if I should use size 5 or 6 for the bodice (though clearly 6 on the waist/skirt). So I cut 6 but now have to go back and take the side seams in by 1/2" on either side -- so I guess next time I know it's more a 5 for me! At least that is an easy fix. I also found that matching the pocket points was a little fussy, and I'm not 100% happy with them. I think I'll probably go back and finesse those as well. But it is still super wearable as it is, and I wore it happily to work on Monday!




I love the way it fits - it just floats over the body and was super comfortable even at the 30+ weather yesterday. I know some people have mentioned that the pleats are not a favourite feature, especially on the back, but I think that bit of extra "float" factor in the back helps with my figure. I like them. Looking at this picture I can see that I'll have to take some width or length out of the upper back next go round as well, but again, still very wearable as is.



So my judgement is that getting this all together as a kit was a different experience - I'm not used to someone else selecting fabric for me! But I loved the process and having everything ready there for me. Everything is high quality and it is nice to start a project without worrying that you've forgot some vital notion.