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Roslyn Tunic
This simple and elegant top is The Roslyn tunic from Style Arc Patterns, made in silk matka. Silk matka is produced from broken silk cocoons - the silk worm has escaped, so the silk is hand spun, not reeled, resulting in a soft, slubbed, lightly textured hand and supple drape. The silk fibers are spun together by hand without removing the sericin from the fibers, which helps keep the yarns thick while retaining their extremely soft texture. Because of the skills it takes to create this silk it is hard to find and manufacture. One touch reveals an appealing hand with a quiet luster that is at once rustic and elegant. The floating pocket detail adds dimension and is surprisingly simple to sew. The faced and vented hem finish works perfectly, can be work as a ⅞ length or rolled up as a ¾ length sleeve. I suspect that this fabric comes from older stock as the supplier is retiring and keeps 'finding' fabrics in his warehouse. At an wholesale fabric show recently, I was buying silks from a favorite Indian supplier, a family business and I asked about silk matka. The older uncle said that silk matka is disappearing because the workers are aging out, so it is now so expensive he no longer stocks it.
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Sew & Tell — March 2026
Marcy says, 'Love this well thought out hoodie in a design interpretation that is a cut above the ubiquitious hoodie!' Our sewing friend/customer, Eve, used our Petroglyph Fleece, sold out for now, (but we will re- stock it for next Fall), and pattern Grasser #419. Grasser is a German online pattern company with an extensive line of patterns. Eve adapted the sweatshirt pattern buy adding a hood and pocket, then took the design to another dimension by adding piping and black contrast.
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Sew & Tell — March 2026
Our sewing friend Lia did just the right thing, paring a stunning, bold abstract print, (named Lee Krassner, out of print), with a pattern in a simple yet strong design, Vogue 9162 by Kathryn Brynne. The website Textillia has a page showing all of Kathryn Brynne's OOP patterns. Take a look - fabulous designs, worth tracking down and collecting. Marcy says, 'I always coveted this fabric. If I ever find more, I'll scoop it up!'
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Sew & Tell — March 2026
Fashion experts say that every woman can use a red coat in her wardrobe and this one is a beauty! Patricia used a beefy wool boucle paired with faux black leather using the Onde coat pattern. Beautifully done - and sewing with faux leather is not for the faint of heart, much less combining it with a thick boucle! All the details work beautifully together, down to the black buttons and peek of black at the pocket opening.
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