New York Liberty Top

Now when I said the other day that I had taken pictures of 4 tops I'd recently made, I lied.

I have recently made 4 tops, but I only photographed 3 of them - the 4th top I photographed was one made by my mum. I know this is a blog about the things I've made, but the top is just too lovely not to share!

This top is made using Simplicity 1366 combined with a delectable Liberty tana lawn mum bought on her trip to New York a few months back.  I love this particular print - it looks like an art nouveau design I think? - and the scale of the print and colours are right up my alley too.  I love the way the blue pops out against the orange, brown and white, and the careful symmetric placement of the print really pleases me.  I'm pretty sure I haven't seen this print locally (and I can't even find it on the Shaukat Fabrics site!) but if I do ever see it I'll definitely be tempted to get some more.

If you remember, this is also the pattern I used for this top - and based on a comparison of the fit and lengths of the two tops, I think it's safe to say this version was sewn in a size 12 (note the size 12 is supposed to fit a bust of 34" but has a finished measurement of 41.5" - so size down on this pattern!) and cropped significantly from the original pattern length (just like my striped version - see photo below).

This pattern is one that just about everyone seems to have success with, and I'm very pleased to say it worked out for mum as well. Oh except that it didn't really, did it - it worked out for me instead! The only reason I have the top is that is turned out too tight across mum's shoulders.

There's not too much to say about this pattern that hasn't been said before by the squillions of people who've sewn it up, but I do want to say a bit more about the fabric.

Liberty tana lawn is such pretty fabric, but to me the truly wonderful thing about it is that it's so lightweight without being fragile. We've been having quite a steamy summer, so this top and my old sleeveless Liberty top have been perfect for looking decent without feeling super sweaty.

Oh and on the subject of lightweight fabrics, there is one other thing... Now that I have an overlocker I tend to serge the seam allowances on everything without really thinking about it, but looking at the finish on this top reminded me that serging is not always best. Sometimes a serged seam allowance can be too weighty or too thick for your fabric - and in such cases a pinked edge or a lightly stitched finish can work better.  Mum doesn't have a serger; she finished the seam allowances on this top with a three-step zig zag stitch and the light touch feels absolutely right for this fabric, so that's something I'm going to try to remember next time I'm sewing a lightweight fabric myself.

And that is all for now :)


See you soon


- Gabrielle xx

The Simple Things

You wouldn't know it because I've been a slack blogger, but this is my third S1366 top, and it was finished ages ago, before Christmas. The first was made from the pattern with no adjustments, and had to be given to my mum, who has wider shoulders than me.  Number two was a successful test of a narrower boatneck, but is made from such a boring fabric that I can't bring myself to wear it, let alone blog it.  Third time around, fabric AND fit came together happily.

As you can see, it's a simple shape - dropped shoulder, boat neck, loose elbow-length sleeves and a loose, dartless bodice, all of which mean a nice quick sew.  The pattern gives you a top which is longer than what I've made here, but this time around I wanted a cropped top that would sit outside of skirts and pants.   My hope is that this length will camouflage my short waist, which is located very close to the bottom of my rib cage. Whether or not that works, the shape seems to go with everything from jeans and shorts to pencil skirts and cigarette pants. 

In these photos I'm wearing RTW pants that I wear to work a lot - and guess what, they fit me worse than those Burda pants I was complaining about a couple of posts back!  I can't believe I've been confidently wearing these pants while decrying the mustard pants... ARGH!  Anyway, we're all still learning, right?

I sewed the top in a size 12, which is supposed to fit a 34" bust yet which has a finished bust measurement of 41.5".  That is such a lot of ease that I would suggest going down a size from your measurements. My bust size is currently about 37", halfway between the size 14 and the size 16, and the fit on the size 12 feels right on me.

The fabric is a cotton I bought from Tessuti Fabrics a while ago, a Ralph Lauren-esque classic in navy and cream stripes, though the stripes waver in a way that feels more interesting to me at the moment than a straight line stripe.

Because it's sheer, I also sewed up the camisole that comes with this pattern - but in these photos I'm wearing the top with an old RTW cami.  

I've finished the neckline with cream coloured cotton bias binding (a self fabric would have shown through), and I've french seamed the main seams and overlocked hem edges before turning them over and top stitching.   The stripes are matched up on the side seams (and the sleeve seams that you can't see) - with such a wide stripe there was no way I wouldn't!

OK, so the top is good, the pants not so much.  Onto the camisole.

I sewed the camisole up in a size 12, assuming it would be designed to fit under the matching top of the same size.

My fabric this time around was a mid-weight cream coloured satin that I picked up ages ago at one of my local second hand stores.

As with the top, the pattern for the cami was extremely simple - the front and back are identical, and the design relies on a bias cut to fit to whatever shape it needs to fit.  Even the rouleau straps proved easily done.

The pattern envelope says that the size 12 cami, for a person with a bust of 34", should have a finished bust measurement of 36.5" - and if you recall, the size 12 top has a finished bust measurement of 41.5".  In other words, the camisole is intended to provide a smaller fit than the top, and should have been snug (though it's bias cut, so not unpleasantly snug) on my 37" bust.

And yet it's too loose. I imagine fabric type plays a big part here; perhaps my fabric is too drapey, but I didn't expect the camisole to fit me like this.  Although by keeping my arms by my sides I can disguise the problem, there's excess fabric both at the sides of the camisole and in the front and back necklines and it just feels way too big.  I don't think taking it in at the side seams is a solution, as this will also pull the straps out - I need to make this another size smaller!

Since I have other camisoles that fit, it's not a huge problem - I can still wear my stripey top.  The one thing I hadn't thought about when I made the top was that IF it has to be worn with a camisole, unless the camisole is cotton it's going to be too hot for summer.  We've been having a humid summer, and I do a lot of walking on my way to and from work each day, so I don't like to wear extra layers that I can't easily remove and carry as I walk.  I might see whether a cotton voile camisole makes it more suited for summer, but if not, I'm sure this top will get lots of wear come autumn.


Thanks for reading!



See you soon
- Gabrielle x