Hello! I’m really excited to share with you today about making a gathered sleeve Remy Top (with a bottom hem pattern hack). For the fabric, I used a Brushwork Print in a Viscose base from Minerva’s exclusive fabric line.

I’m not one that usually is drawn to animal prints. I found the neutral elements intriguing within the color palette. The animal print spots look more like brushstrokes to me than a traditional animal print (which became a fun gateway for me to step into an animal print). The print could really go either way, for those that love animal prints or for those that like more abstract interpretations of animal prints. I’ve worked more with rayon challis bases but I would say this viscose base feels really the similar to a rayon challis.

I went with a Remy raglan top with this project. I have made the Remy a couple of times but learned through the process some of my own preferences. One time I made it in a sicker linen and I didn’t love that it was not drippy. It was a little too heavy of a bass for my own preference. Another Remy I made with a double gauze but I’ve learned over time my preferences for the bottom of a woven top. I’ll share more about my mod to the top in just a minute. I share this to say that the fabric you use for a garment can make a big difference to how much you love the finished garment.

There are so many options that Sew House 7 includes for variations with this pattern! The base pattern includes two different Fronts and three different sleeve options. There are also six variations/pattern hacks included in the Tutorials section on the Sew House 7 site:

https://sewhouse7.com/products/the-remy-raglan-top-pdf-pattern

There is a free gathered sleeve pack that is included as an option for free with the pattern. I have not made this one yet so I went this route for my top. It’s a nice bracelet leaf length for the sleeve so you get the night the lovely bloomed gathered fabric but with the length being higher than your wrist, it’s less of a hazard for your sleeve to get caught or in the way (in a full length gathered sleeve).

Version: V1 Plain Front

Size: 6 (straight, no grading across sizes)

Gathered Bottom hem pattern hack: I went with a cuffed bottom hem that mimics the gathered sleeve bottom hem. I have included a photo showing my math for the size 6, for reference. I’m sharing the steps with you so you can recreate this hack for any size of the Remy top. I will share a tutorial on how I created the cuff:

Before cutting out your top, I removed 2” from the Remy FRONT and BACK pattern pieces. I also folded the bottom edge of the pattern piece so you have a straight edge. The Remy FRONT and BACK (as designed) has a curve to the hem. I removed this curve as I don’t need it for the gathered hack.

With your FRONT pattern piece, take a ruler and measure the width along the bottom edge of the top.
With your BACK pattern piece, take a ruler and measure the width along the bottom edge of the top.
Multiply the FRONT x 2 and the BACK x 2 (the pattern piece is cut out on the fold so the width that you’re measuring is half the actual width).
Add the the two numbers together from step 3.
Multiply this number by 0.85.
Add 1.25 to this number (this step is adding twice the ⅝” seam allowance).
My final number was 43”, this is the length of the bottom hem cuff.
The width of the cuff is 4” so you would cut out one long rectangle that is 43” x 4”. Substitute your number for the 43” value if you didn’t sew a size 6 for your top.
Stitch the short ends of the rectangle together (right sides together) at a ⅝” seam allowance.
Fold the bottom hem cuff in half with the right side of the fabric facing out.
Follow the gathered sleeve directions (from the Tutorials section on Sew House 7’s website) for the bottom hem sewing (sew two rows of basting seams around the bottom edge of the top, pull the baste threads to match the width of the bottom hem, etc.)


As this is a drapey fabric base, I pre-treated the fabric with a liquid starch. Technically first I will wash and dry the fabric twice to pre-shrink. Then I take a liquid starch and dilute it 50-50 with water. I then spray the liquid starch solution onto the fabric and let it air dry. I will then iron the fabric and it is ready to go on the cutting table. I’ve added this step to a lot of my projects and feel it’s absolutely worth the extra steps.

With the fabric I also received a new label that Minerva is offering. If you’ve not worked with woven labels yet for fabrics, they are such a treat. I think of them like a sticker for paper only they’re permanent and a fun way to add personality to your clothing. You can add the label in the center back (so you know the back of the garment). Another way I’ve enjoyed applying a woven tag is with knitting. You can add the label to the bottom outer hem of a garment. You wrap the label around the outside of the hem and then it becomes like a brand logo (like what you see often on commercial clothing, hats, or other items). This label has the Minerva brand logo M on one side and #MinervaMaker is printed on the other side. That hashtag is a fun one to search as well if you’re looking for lots of sewing inspiration.