I wanted some casual things to wear when I’m not at work, but wanted them to be dressier than a regular t-shirt, so, prompted by a 30% discount at StyleArc, I bought some new patterns.

First to be made is the Elizabeth top

It’s a bit clearer in the schematic. This top has got a double front with the outer front having a longer asymmetrical component.

The top is a bit looser than a regular t-shirt, which makes it easy to wear, especially with fitted pants or jeans.

The only changes I made to the top were a full bust adjustment and I lengthened the sleeves by 7.5cms.

I have been a bit put off by the StyleArc patterns because you have to nominate your size and the pattern only contains that size. I choose the size according to my bust measurement and they are always too big for me, so when I ordered this batch I went for the smaller size and did a FBA. I think this worked much better – except for the fact that I am no expert at doing the FBA and I am wondering whether I took the pattern slightly off grain.

The back of the top has a centre back seam with a short opening fastened with a loop and a button. I chose a crystal deco button from my stash as it was hard to find a decorative button that was small enough for the loop.

 This is the second version of this top I’ve made – the first was a bit of a disaster. I used flimsier t-shirt fabric and tried to follow the directions. It is often said that StyleArc have minimal instructions and this pattern is no different. The use of punctuation is slightly haphazard to say the least, leading me to be slightly confused. The instructions for joining the front to the back were completely missing, for example, and, in my opinion, some of the wording was ambiguous. My confusion was compounded by the fact that I made the first version after a difficult day and I was dog tired. So tired, in fact, that I managed to put the long front underneath the short front, and by the time I made the discovery, I had already sewn on the neck band and stitched in the ditch with exceptionally well matched thread. I was not unpicking it all as the t-shirting would go into holes, so finished the top and will wear it to walk in. I did take photos but they are too awful to contemplate making public.

When I made the first one I realised that the sleeves are the wrong length, coming to just above the elbow. The illustration shows them as being quite an elegant length, but they turned out looking quite frumpy; hence the addition of the 7.5cms. I was tempted to cut off about the same length and have really short sleeves, but thought I’d try long first.

This pattern is also suitable for woven fabrics and I will do a woven version at some point this summer.

These photos were taken in the early morning at work. This lake is in front of my office, which is in the building behind.

I always feel as though we have the best view on campus and we all love watching the wildlife. There are always baby birds and ducks around, and this little fellow came to see what I was doing.

I felt a bit nervous because the ducks will attack if you get too close to their babies, but, after I put my camera away, I looked down and the whole family of Dusky Moorhens was at my feet – I had to be careful not to step on a baby!

The details: Top is StyleArc Elizabeth made with minor modifications. Fabric is a firm knit with minimal stretch from Spotlight. The button is Art Deco crystal from my stash. Pants are these Vogue 8859 in white cotton, and the shoes are Neo from Zomp.