Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts - Plus Size Edition Rebooted

For all my new friends, back in April I made the Jennifer City Shorts from Style Arc.  I blogged about that experience here.  Let's just say the shorts weren't the size that they were supposed to be and if you want to know more, then you need to go back and read the original post.

I alerted Style Arc to the issue with the original pattern, and you can read about their response and customer service in relation to the issue here and here.  If you aren't interested in reading those posts, I will just say that Style Arc has amazing customer service!

In July I actually made two pair of Jennifer City Shorts.  One in a non-stretch twill, and one in a stretch twill.

I actually made the stretch twill pair first, because I needed shorts to go with one of my earlier makes, and I thought I would start with a stretch fabric, because I was a little cautious after the first experience that I had with this pattern.

Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size
Can you spot the Spanx in this photo?

Again, I have to say that I really love the side slit detail in these shorts.  I also like the longer length.  Sometimes, you just don't want to show off your knees, or am I the only one?  I sewed these when I was having tensioning problems with the machine, but the puckering you see here at the hem was remedied with a clapper and lots of steam!

Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size Side Vent
This little error has since been fixed.

As you can see, I flubbed and missed the mark by about an eighth of an inch.  I have since fixed this, because it was driving me bonanners!

Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size Yoke Waist
That little blip at the waist is gonna stay there, because I am not ripping the whole waist out to fix it.

I adore how I was able to get a mostly smooth fit in the rear.  Look how beautifully the yoke pieces lined up!  I did end up with a pucker at the waist line, but no one is ever going to see that, so I am going to leave it alone.  In the construction of these shorts, the waist facing goes in as one long piece.  There was no way I was ripping the whole thing out to deal with one little pucker!  Why do I snicker when I type little pucker??

I posted the second pair here, but will give a little recap.

Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size from the Front

This pair was made in a non-stretchy twill.  For me at my size, the fit was a really good starting point.  Normally there are crotch curve disasters, blood, sweat and tears, and down right hissy fits when I am trying to sew pants.  I sewed this pattern EXACTLY as it was given to me.  No adjustments, and this is what I got.  For me, that is a win!!

So friends, lets talk about Style Arc for just a sec.  Sometimes Style Arc gets a bad reputation for their instructions.  Personally, I find their instructions refreshing.  You aren't going to get the hand holding that you get with Big 4 patterns.  But, if you have been sewing a minute, do you really need all those instructions?  Even with the zipper fly, I just didn't find this to be a challenging sew.  The instructions are basic, but for me basic is good.  Basic makes me use my brain.  If you are uncomfortable with directions like "sew the two yoke pieces together," or "sew the front pieces to the back pieces" then maybe you aren't ready for Style Arc.  Or then again, maybe you are.  Maybe you need that stretch, because in that stretch is where learning happens (at least in my experience).

I have to give Style Arc major kuddos for carrying all their patterns up to a size 30!  As a plus size sewist I find this so helpful.  To me pants are by far the hardest thing in the sewing world to grade.  Having pants patterns that actually fit your dimensions is a real help, and I want the ladies at Style Arc to know that I whole heartedly appreciate their effort in making patterns for all sizes.

Then there is the amazing customer service.  These ladies went above and beyond to make sure that I was a satisfied customer.  That in and of itself will make me a repeat customer!

To show the ladies at Style Arc some love, I have been considering hosting a sewalong with one of their patterns (plus size edition of course but not excluding anyone).  Would any of you be interested in such a sewalong?  I have been eyeing their pull on jeans/jegging pattern called the Misty Stretch Pull-On Jeans.  They seem a perfect wardrobe builder for boot and sweater season!

Photo from StyleArc.com.  Misty Stretch Pull-On Jeans.

A Floral Tunic and Long Shorts - Butterick 5997 and Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts

Hello, Friends!  I have been so busy sewing the past few weeks, yet I haven't been posting many finished projects here.  With all the rain we have had lately, photo shoots have been near impossible.  So, when the sun peaked out this afternoon I knew it was time to photograph a few outfits!  Without further ado:

Please excuse my very squinty eyes, and extremely flat hair!  If ever there was a time that I should have worn sunglasses for a photo shoot, today was the day.  I had good Southern "higher the hair closer to God" hair going on, and the minute I walked in to the humidity it fell.  In less than a minute outside my hair and face were drenched.  Is it possible to have 110% humidity?  I told my husband we weren't breathing the air this afternoon, we were drinking it.

Enough about the weather, we are here to talk sewing.  Inspired my Mary over at Idle Fancy and her original version of Butterick 5997, I purchased this lovely floral voile from Mood Fabrics.  Let's talk about this fabric for a minute.  It is so soft and light and it just feels magnificent against the skin.  I am tempted to go back and buy it in the other color too!

Copenhagen/Baby Blue Floral Printed Cotton Voile  Photo from Moodfabric.com

Raspberry/Copenhagen Floral Printed Cotton Voile  Photo from Moodfabric.com

Here are some of the details for the Butterick 5997 tunic.  I decided to sew the View A tunic, and make some modifications to get a bell sleeve.  I intend to do a full on construction post later in the week, and I will spill all the details there as to how I made this tunic fit (because it certainly doesn't go up to my size), as well as some things I would change next time around.

I love the neckline of this tunic.  I have always been a fan of v-necks and love the Mandarin collar.  I decided to go with the view that has front shoulder yokes with gathers, as opposed to the pintucks that Mary went with.  I love the look of the pintucks, but since my machine has been acting up, I didn't want to need to sew something more precise.

Butterick 5997 Tunic with Gathered Shoulders and Mandarin Collar

I added a six inch side slit for sitting ease through the hips.  I think it is a shame that this pattern was not drafted with this feature, as any longer tunic should offer this option.

Butterick 5997 with added Side Slit

The back of the tunic has a shirttail hem, which is another detail that I love.  It is actually long enough to cover my whole derriere.

Butterick 5997

This tunic is my start to bridging my wardrobe towards Fall.  It is cool enough to wear now when I need sleeves, but will give me some coverage in the Fall that will layer well with a long sweater vest.  Again, I LOVE this fabric!  The tunic needs a few minor tweaks, but I am quite happy with it as well.

On to the shorts.  These are the Style Arc Jennifer City Shorts.  You may remember the first time that I made them here.  The ladies at Style Arc went above and beyond to fix the issues that I has with the original pattern.  I decided that I would trust the ladies' from Style Arc work and dove in to making these shorts in a Cerulean Blue twill that was in the stash, which has no stretch.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

As you can see above, the Jennifer City Shorts have a low front waist band.  The slash pockets surprisingly don't bulge.  These shorts may be a little long for some people's taste, but I quite like the length.  They would be easy enough to shorten though.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

As you can see, I have a very ample and rounded plus size behind.  I was very surprised that without any adjustments these shorts fit in the behind.  That never happens!  I love that little side slit in these shorts as well.

StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts Plus Size

I find the yoke in the back of the shorts to be very flattering.  There are again just a few minor tweaks the pattern needs to look smooth.  These are issues specific to my body and not the pattern's fault.

So friends, tell me are you already sewing with an eye towards Fall?

Pattern Review: StyleArc Jennifer City Shorts...The Plus Size Edition

A while back I ordered a few patterns from StyleArc.  One of which was the Jennifer City Shorts.  I had planned to make them for my cruise in February, but because the mail was running slow I was not able to get them made.  Now, I am glad that I didn't waste my pre-cruise sewing time!

The front of the shorts

The back of the shorts

They do look like the drawing on the pattern (albeit a much wider version)!  You might be wondering why I am not wearing them in these pictures, and we will get to that shortly.

Photo from StyleArc.com

My current measurements are 52-52-64.  The size 30 from StyleArc is supposed to fit a waist of 50.5 inches and hips up to 61 inches.

Size Chart information from StyleArc.com

In light of this size discrepancy, I added four inches total to the hips, and went ahead with two inches at the waist, because an extra half inch at the waist ain't gonna hurt nobody.  Is it weird that I now have Kid N' Play songs running through my head?

Anyway, when I was cutting the pattern out, the pattern pieces seemed small to me, but I was thinking they were going to be short from the waist to the crotch, not too narrow.  Lo and behold I get enough of the shorts together to pull them on, and they won't go over my thighs.  Wah, wah, wahhhhhhhhh!

I laid them out flat and measured them, and with my four inches added at the hips the shorts were still only 60 inches at the hips.  Had I not added in the extra width, they would have only been 56 inches ya'll!  That is five inches of negative ease in a pattern made specifically for wovens.  

I contacted StyleArc to find out if maybe the pattern had printed wrong, or to at least give them a chance to explain the discrepancy, but as of the date of this publishing I have not heard back.  If I do hear back, I will update you all with the information.

As a curvy diva on the high end of most plus size patterns, I was stoked to see that all of StyleArc's patterns are offered up to a size 30.  Now, I am left wondering if the other patterns that I ordered are even going to fit.  I will definitely measure the pattern dimensions before cutting in to my fabric next time.

But the pattern did have some cute details so let's highlight a few of those.

Here we have a great slit at the bottom of each of the legs on the outter thigh.  I really like this detail and will use it in other patterns that I make.  It is really a simple detail to create, but it gives the shorts that little extra bit of something.

I bias bound the waist facing with a contrasting blue to match another detail I will show in a minute.  This was a fantastic fly zipper insertion.  Instead of following anyone's tutorial (they were all making my head spin), I kind of reverse engineered it, and I am pleased as punch with how it turned out.

The slash pockets were lined with a cotton from my stash that was a great match for the twill, and I thought the addition of the royal blue polka dots made for a cute detail!  This was why I chose to use the royal blue bias binding on the waist facing.  I had a cute royal blue button to match too, but I was so mad about the fit, that I decided to throw on a shell button and save the royal one.  

On a side note, the metal zipper, bias binding, and button I had planned to use were all from my stash of vintage notions.

This has to be one of the best button holes my machine has produced thus far!  Drats!!!  I did not sew the waist facing down in the manner suggested.  Instead I tacked it at the side seams and at the fly.

For those of you who have not sewn with StyleArc patterns before, one thing you need to be aware of (aside from the fit issue); StyleArc patterns do not come with a lot of directions.  There are directions, they are just very vague.  If you are a newbie, this might be a bit intimidating.  I found it refreshing to not have my hand held and actually have to think about how the pattern went together and figure some things out on my own.  I would even go as far as to say I like this style of directions.  I actually had to use my brain.

If I were to make these shorts again, I would add faux welt pockets to the back of the shorts.  With the yoke waist in the back there is a whole lot of real estate back there that needs a little something to break things up...if you know what I mean!

I am going to hold on to these shorts, as my size tends to float around a bit.  Maybe by June or July they will fit, and I won't feel like all is lost.

This is how I rate the pattern:

Size Range:  4 - Though they did not fit according to the size chart, there is still a large range of size here, better than most pattern companies.  You should note though that StyleArc patterns are one size on the page.

Instructions:  2 - As noted earlier, the instructions are very basic.  This was great for me, but for a beginner or someone who has only sewn from the Big 4, I think this would cause a lot of confusion.

Construction Process:  4 - The shorts went together fairly easily, and there were not a ton of pieces to deal with.  It took me around 3 hours to sew this pattern and another hour to cut it out.

Final Fit:  0 - I have to give it a zero since the shorts would not even pull on.

Overall:  2.5 

So tell me friends, have any of you sewn a plus size StyleArc pattern before?  If so, what were your results?  One other little thing, I am on Instagram now...follow me @pandorasews