Jara

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French terry and matching rib arrived at work a few months ago, and it’s fair to say, it’s currently one of my favourite things to sew.  So far I’ve sewn this StyleArc Jara Knit Tunic, a sample for work, and a sweatshirt for my youngest.

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Tunics are generally not my friend… the proportions are all wrong for me, so I took some serious length out of the body of this make.  In this case, serious length equalled 3″ (7.6cm).

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I also shortened the arms by 2″ (5cm) and after wearing this a few times, I think I got a little carried away.  I now know that a reduction of 1″ (2.5cm) would have accommodated my short arms nicely without me experiencing cold wrists.

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Let’s forget about my cold wrists, and focus on those inverted sleeve pleats.  Such a neat design feature.

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The french terry is 320gsm, so I took my time to machine baste the tucks and pleats, and grade seams where practical.

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I quite like the look of a topstitched shoulder seam, so I added this detail too.

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The neckband drafting on this pattern was a huge revelation to me.  In fact, it had me scratching my head for a while and I was actually wondering if it was an error to begin with.  I should have known better… those StyleArc ladies sure know what they are doing.

I mocked up a little sample in some scrap ribbing and had my ah-ha moment.  The shaping on the short sides, as shown in example diagram above, means that when folded the raw edge is longer than the folded edge.  This clever drafting means that a thicker neckband will sit closer to your neck rather than sticking up.  Mind blown!

After posting about this on Instagram, one of my followers reminded me that sometimes ribbed cuffs on sweatshirts & hoodies are drafted this way too.

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All in all I’m really pleased with this make.  It’s an elevated sweatshirt in a great colour.

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Pattern:  StyleArc’s Jara Knit Tunic purchased in hardcopy from The Cloth Shop
Size: 
8
Fabric: 
100% cotton french terry & matching ribbing from The Cloth Shop in the teal colourway
Alterations: 
Completed a 3/8” (1cm) forward shoulder adjustment, removed 3″ (7.6cm) from the length and shortened the sleeves by 2″ (5cm)
Outfit:  Jeans from Witchery (several seasons ago) and boots from Obus (also several seasons ago) and Eribe scarf borrowed from Sharon
Location:  Port Fairy

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4 comments

  • Hi it all
    Looks terrific! You may need your friend to gift you the scarf as it sets the outfit off perfectly. Looks very smart, casual warm and colourful ! A winner!

  • Everything you’ve done to this piece (cut short, color, top-stitching, tweaks) equals another absolutely outstanding make, but why you find tunics unfriendly is a conundrum to me (they’re just short dresses); still, I’ll take your word for it since you know best, in this and generally all else.

    • Frances, you made me laugh. I seriously don’t know best. It’s just that I am long in the body, short in the legs. Tunics have this habit of making my upper body look even longer and my legs even shorter… so yes, proportionally I feel out-of-whack. From experience I know that I don’t reach for items that I don’t feel great in. Hence tunics and I have broken up!