It’s hard to believe that I used to dress to be invisible, to blend in. I prefer the colourful, more confident me, who loves to accessorise, but I acknowledge that expressing myself through clothing and finding my style was a learned skill… as is posing for blog photos!

The fabric is an amazing digitally AND screen printed viscose spandex knit from The Cloth Shop [sold out].  The palm trees were screen printed onto the fabric like icing on a cake.

The pattern is StyleArc’s Sunny Knit Top.  The cocoon shape with slim sleeves is very flattering.  Cue awkward and embarrassing pose!

Some reviews find the sleeves on this pattern to be too tight… they are fine on me, but I would suggest you flat measure the pattern and compare it to your bicep measurement.  If you need to add some width, StyleArc has a pattern adjustment tutorial for this exact alteration.

I last sewed this pattern 5 years ago.

This time I sewed a size 8 and shortened the top by 2″ (5cm)… 1″ (2.5cm) in the upper body and 1″ (2.5cm) in the lower panel.  I also remove the centre back seam (personal preference) and did my usual forward shoulder adjustment.

This top is going on my list of favourite makes of 2020!

Pattern:  Style Arc’s Sunny Knit Top
Size:  8
Fabric:  Viscose spandex knit from The Cloth Shop [sold out]
Alterations:  Removed 1″ (2.5 cm) from the front and back pieces as well as 1″ (2.5 cm) from the cocoon shaped bottom band
Accessories:  Boots from Florsheim, jeans from Witchery and scarf from Elk (a few seasons ago).
Location:  Warrnambool foreshore