Although Gaby is in Austria, I still sew for her, go figure! :) A couple of days ago I was watching random youtube month's makes videos and I fell in love with a free top pattern - Ruffle Sleeve Top by In The Folds, published by Peppermint magazine. It was love from first sight. I immediately downloaded the pattern and the instructions and went through my small fabric stash. The polka dot light cotton was exactly what the pattern called for, so next morning I ran downtown and found light white cotton for the facing. The upper polka dot fabric is too transparent and using the same fabric for the facing would have resulted in a mess of dots, which I wanted to avoid, so pure white for the facing was the better choice.
This is the first proper professional PDF pattern I have used and I couldn't recommend it enough! Clear step-by-step instructions, which call for professional finishing with very narrow french seams; clear detailed drawings for every step; different seam allowances dependent on the type of edge and type of finishing they relate to; every size is a different layer in the PDF, so once you've chosen the size, all other sizes can be made invisible, which makes cutting the pattern so much easier. The only draw back, which is characteristic for all PDF patterns - it eats through A LOT of paper (28 sheets A4) and there's plenty of cutting, arranging and gluing before one can get to the actual sewing process. Still - I believe it is worth it.
One small notice on the sizing - the pattern claims to have been drawn for height 170 cm. I'm 156 cm and Gaby is 164 cm. I measured the paper pattern and found it to be perfect for my size, it might even be a bit short for Gaby. So for women of actual 170 cm and above it would definitely be on the shorter side. But that's also up to individual preferences, I love tops to reach the width of the hips, others might prefer them just below the waist.
Although the top has no waist shaping and just a couple of darts for the bust areas, it is quite fitting and slimming. I made size A, which is equivalent to XS and it is a bit smaller (narrow at the shoulder blades and the bust) on me. I'm considering making a similar top for myself, but I will definitely make it size B (the body measurements for B according to the chart fit me perfectly, as if they've measured me personally, amazing! :). Unfortunately, this means that I'll have to go again through the process of printing 28 pages, cutting and gluing :(
The inside of the top - all french seams. This is not the first time I'm using french seams, but the first time I'm instructed to make them so narrow (6 mm, cutting to 2-3 mm). What a difference it made! From now on I'll be using french seams every time I'm sewing delicate fabrics!
Lovely shirt!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking at those peppermint magazine patterns for a while now. Good to know they're well written and easy to use!
Sticking dozens of A4 pages together is so tiresome and it really makes me avoid some patterns that I'd otherwise love to make.
In future I'm thinking of having the A0 size printed at a printing shop - it's only AU$4.35 per sheet and is probably a better use of my valuable and rather limited crafting time!
That's good to know about this top's pattern. I love the ruffles at the end of the sleeves.
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