The Angela Wolf Linda Tunic

The Angela Wolf Linda Tunic is a pattern that I have made a few times before. But once I saw it in plaid, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Understand that working with plaid fabric can be tricky and is not my forte. So for this, I had to take my time and use some of the knowledge I have gathered in cutting out plaid garments.

First

I cut the pattern out on a single layer. As you may know, folding the plaid and cutting it out can be a bit risky if you’re trying to match up your pattern. I have done it successfully before, but that was also with very careful pinning of the fabric.

Second

I flipped the pattern pieces instead of tracing an extra copy. Honestly, it might be easier to just trace another copy of the piece (ex. the back piece) and lay them both out flat on the fabric. This was a new-to-me technique that I wanted to try.

Next

In order to add more interest to the Angela Wolf tunic in this plaid, I cut the front placket and the yoke and collar out on the diagonal. That’s something I like to do for those small pieces because it breaks up the look of the plaid. It’s also much easier than trying to match up those small pieces.

The fabric I used for this is a cotton/rayon blend that washes great and feels soft like a flannel. I purchased this from the Angela Wolf fabric stash sale. You can get information about that and the Fashion Sewing Club through this link here. It’s a great way to learn from a pattern designer/fashion designer and sewing enthusiast.

As far as the actual construction of the garment, that is easy. The hard part with the plaid fabric is laying it out to cut. Once that’s done, it goes together fairly quickly.

The only change I made was to shorted the hem. I made this one about 3″ shorter than the previous ones I’ve made. The Angela Wolf Linda tunic has become one of my favorite patterns for tops. It’s very versatile and can be altered (or hacked) in many ways.

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Making a Raglan Sleeve Top

Making a raglan sleeve top can be a little confusing at first if you haven’t done it before. I have made a few, but I always have to take my time to make sure I attach the sleeve in the right spot. For this top, I used this Kwik Sew pattern 4041. I used some fabric I’ve had for (many) years.

With a raglan sleeve, the sleeve extends to the neckline/collar in one piece. So, there’s no traditional shoulder seam. I hadn’t used this pattern before, but this is one that I had picked up in a recent pattern haul.

Although this is an easy pattern to make, this first one took quite a while because I needed to match the stripes. I sewed a size large for this one, but it was a bit too large for me.

So, I wanted to make this again because I do like the style. Since I had traced the pattern, it was easy to trace again and make a size medium. I used some leftover fabric I had in my fabric stash and made the next one.

I think this is a much better fit. I used some leftover Minerva fabric for the body and black ribbed knit for the sleeves. This is a quick top to make when I don’t have to match up any stripes! The black and gray top took me about two hours to make.

On the pattern envelope you can see that this is a wider neckline. With that in mind, if you prefer something that’s not quite as wide, I would choose a different pattern. Because of how raglan sleeve tops are made, I would not want to go through the work of altering this particular pattern. I would just choose a different pattern design.

But my original navy blue and green striped is definitely wearable. I simply wear it with a T-shirt or tank underneath. The black and gray is warm and very comfortable (you know I like comfort).

The majority of the time, I do use my serger when I sew knits. I just love how the seams look and hold together when finished off with this. But if you’ve never sewn knits before, or don’t own a serger, not to worry.

You can simply use a zigzag stitch to sew the seams and that will give you the stretch you need for the seams.

I love sewing and wearing knit garments. They are comfortable to wear, easy to pack when traveling and easy to care for. Here’s a previous post on some other knit top patterns I’ve made.

Let me know if you sew knits or are you a bit apprehensive about it? It’s a process that can be much easier than you think!

Here’s a book that I find is full of helpful information and inspiration:

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Love Notions Arlington Sweater

The Love Notions Arlington sweater is one of those things that came across my Instagram feed a few weeks back. If you aren’t aware, Love Notions pattern company does what they call “$5 Friday”. That means that whatever pattern is the feature for that week, you can purchase the PDF for $5. This is one of those that I wanted and bought.

As you can see from the drawing above, the Love Notions Arlington sweater is very versatile. I love having patterns that have many options available without me having to alter or “hack”. I do love a good hackable pattern too (here’s one of my favorites).

For this one, I made the cowl neck with the elbow length sleeves. The fabric I used is a textured stretch knit I was gifted from Minerva Fabrics. You can take a look at it here and read the corresponding post on their site as well. The fabric is warm and weighty (it’s considered a medium-weight knit). It sews easy and washes and dries very well.

The pattern is definitely beginner friendly. I didn’t have to make any adjustments to it for fit. And with the PDF, you can get it and print it up. Because the pattern has layers, you can just print the size you want. And best of all, you only need to assemble the pages you want to use. This helped me a lot because I didn’t want to put the entire pattern together to make this top.

Love Notions Arlington sweater side view

As cooler weather approaches here, I’m happy to have some Fall tops that I can wear to stay warm and comfortable without overheating. I can wear this under a jacket (or shacket) and it’s quite comfortable.