I’m a sucker for a great biker jacket. It’s the perfect thrown-on to dress-down something that little bit too pretty or too formal; the asymmetric fastening, the fitted clean lines, chuck in a bit of quilted top-stitching and honey, I am sold.

However, finding one that fits .. that’s a problem. I tried one on in the sales – a suede and leather mix, a go-with-anything taupe brown – and darn it; my short-waisted-ness strikes again. Balls. So finding something ready-to-wear is an option .. but a slow one. And trying to find just the right pattern from one of the big pattern companies – Burda, Vogue, Butterick, McCall or Simplicity – is tough; the collar is always too big, the details too heavy.

Luckily, Style Arc has come to my rescue. An independent pattern company based in Australia, I’ve bought two patterns from there before (which, I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t sewn yet), and as soon as I spotted their Ziggi jacket in an email .. hello, jacket-y goodness.

The best thing about buying a Style Arc pattern, though (besides the fact that you’re supporting an indie)? Every month, they give away a free pattern with every purchase. And January’s freebie clinched the deal; the Rosie top.

Taking barely over a metre of 115cms wide fabric, not only is it a great top in its own right .. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s going to be a cracking stash-buster. Win.

Of course, given how long it takes me to get around to sewing something complex, I’d wager that the top will get sewn waaaay before the jacket does .. but hey. Watch this space…