Atelier Brunette Top

Back last March when I was telling you about my boxy pink silk twill top, I said it might be the first of many more, and finally, in October 2014 (!!), just back from Europe, I made another of these tops in cotton... a gorgeous Atelier Brunette cotton I'd bought in Paris:

The top two fabrics are Atelier Brunette fabrics ("cosmic blue", and "blue moon"), and the bottom fabric is a Sarah Jane pirate girl fabric from her Out to Sea collection.

In person, the "cosmic blue" is a very pretty fabric - lightweight and fine, and designed in absolutely beautiful colours. The fact that the little circles look like pacmen wandering across a night sky (perhaps eating stars?) also apppeals to me very much :).


I sewed my top as before, with exactly the same modifications, so if you're interested in knowing more about the pattern (Vogue 8879, a very easy pattern) please do have a look at that March post.  I don't particularly want to repeat myself, so this post is going to be more about the fabric, and what a difference it made to use cotton instead of silk twill (or even cotton jersey for that matter - see this post for my mum's silk twill and cotton jersey versions of this pattern).

I wore my new top to work as soon as I could, ironed and starched to within an inch of its life... and yet here's how it looked by the end of a sedentary day in the office:

 

Cotton is of course very comfortable, and a loose top like this feels great in a hot climate.  But straight away you can see that the cotton version lacks the drape of a silk or stretch fabric. Without that drape, the top needs bust darts, and without that drape, the fit of the top becomes less forgiving.

I don't mind that so much though - after all, I love boxiness! What I don't like though is all the creasing - it makes it look like I did a bodgy job with the iron!

And there are even more creases and rumples on the back:

My assumption going into this project was that the fabric, being cotton, would be a delight to sew and iron and a joy to wear.  The sewing wasn't as fun as anticipated (I suppose I normally sew with sturdier fabrics, but I had to adjust my tension to avoid the seams in this fabric puckering), the ironing was a nightmare (iron and starch a section, move the top to iron and starch another section, notice new creases in the first section, re-iron the first section, ad infinitum), and although the cotton was lovely to wear on a warm day, I was disappointed at how very ordinary the top looked by the end of my work day.

Here are a couple of close ups of the top that same afternoon:

Initially I wasn't sure if the crumpling was just me - perhaps I'm not a very good ironer? - but let's be honest; I have sewn fine cottons before and I haven't had this much of a problem with clothing looking so un-ironed before!

For example, I've sewn a couple of tops in Liberty tana lawn - this ruffled one (blogged here):

and a button front, flared sleeve shirt (blogged here):  

I also made this dress of cotton voile with ribbons on it (blogged here, and also here) - this fabric did show some small creases, but I couldn't press it on a high enough heat because the ribbons tended to melt:

Ribboned cotton voile dress, blogged here and originally here

and this quilting cotton dress (blogged here, photos taken after lots of train travel on a scorching hot and sweaty day):

Hmmm. So then I did a bit of an internet search to see how everyone else was managing with this fabric, and what do you know, it looks rumple-prone for everyone!  Please check out Sew & Illustrate's tank top,  Jolie Bobines' dress, Bibouchka's dress, and Papivole's shirt and judge for yourself whether it's the fabric or the sewist.

I did get some advice on Instagram that I should use fabric softener when I washed the top, and that that would really help with the creasing (maybe it will?) but I feel annoyed that a cotton that cost me 18 euros a metre should need special treatment.  At that price, so close to the cost of Liberty tana lawn at Shaukat (currently about 19 euros per metre), I expect more.


I made this top for work, but I'm afraid I've only worn it twice since making it - I don't really like "rumpled" as a work look -so although this top is still in my wardrobe, it is currently classed as a fail.


Next up I have a dress to share with you that feels like a BIG win - it's a mix of a couple of different patterns coupled with a wild fabric, and I'm really excited about the way it's come together.


See you soon

- Gabrielle x