This image may be familiar to many of you if you have spent anytime over at my
Facebook page, where I debuted my Liberty of London Tresco Floral tana lawn fabric top (woo, that's a whole lot of words) after I had completed it and was able to wear it for the first time.
This top took me way too long to make (
which makes me think I need these labels for all of my handmade garments), but by the end of the ten or so hours I spent crafting this top, I was beyond thrilled with it.
I ended up wearing it the first time to my son's sixth birthday party, on the assumption that I would see my stepmother, who is my sewing partner in crime. She ended up not being able to make it, but not one single person looked at my top and said, "oh, that's homemade," or "oh, ah, my eyes, they bleed from the horrible craftsmanship." So I guess I would call that a victory of sorts.
(BTW, my stepmother saw it a few days later and declared that she loved it, especially the shape, and asked if she could borrow the pattern. She wears the same size top as me, so we can do that, no problem.)
I like this top belted, since it is a very relaxed shape, and not all outfits call for a loose fitting top.
If I have one thing I would change, it would be the sleeves, since I feel like I could have constructed the edges a bit better, but I was more than happy at how nicely the shoulder seams and side seams came together.
Full outfit. I love the brightness of the print with the solid burgundy and cream and grey.
From the back. The back is a bit longer than the front, which I did on purpose to help with my frame.
The pattern is Butterick 5463 and is view c. I changed it up, though, by shortening it. I have plenty of longer tunics in my closet, but longer tops, not so much. :)
I wore it again to my first class of Sewing 2. My teacher really wanted to see it in real life, and I was more than happy to oblige. :)
I love it with the
Zip Ankle Skimmer
in the deep pink/purple shade and the pretty cobalt blue cardigan.
I wore it without the belt that day, since the pants were a slimmer silhouette than the sweater skirt I wore to Rex's birthday party.
I knew that CW would go gaga for the print, so I indulged her inherent girly-ness and made her this adorable dress (
also a Butterick pattern--5442--no ruffle, though, may add one later). I had to take a lot of time making this, since the facing on this one is more complicated than the facing on my top, but because I had more experience with sewing in general, I found this dress a bit easier to make, and the finishing on it is far better looking.
I had made a tiny mistake on the shoulder seams on this one, so I decided to add bows to the top bit, which not only covered the mistake but also gives the dress another very darling element.
Plus...I can say that I made this for around $35,
and not for the $150 that this one costs at J. Crew. That said, the J. Crew one is a bit more difficult to make, but still! :)
Close-up of the hem, which *is* an accomplishment for me, since I find hemming so very difficult.
Okay, well, that's it for this installment of the "made by me" files.
Do you all have any other ideas for patterns for this fabric? I have some left over and have enough to make an accessory and maybe a skirt.
