Hello! I have a project to share with you in two different posts today. I started this out as a focus on Shift Tops sewing patterns. I’ve been wanting to browse my tried-and-true patterns and share about them with you.

I love shift tops and dresses because I love printed fabrics. It’s so fun to find garment patterns that have minimal seams, to not interrupt or break up a print on the fabric. My favorite is when the garment includes bust shaping but there’s no other shaping in the garment (for minimal seams to not interrupt the print). I’m focused on tops for this project and was inspired with a fun Snowflake cotton poplin fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics that I got from Minerva.

In my first look at a pattern to pair I picked the Esme top by Lotta Jansdotter (from the book Lotta Jansdotter Everyday Style). I’ve made this one before and have enjoyed the pattern. I paired this sample project with a poly/cotton shirting fabric from my stash in a buffalo check print. I used a bust dart, thread basting technique that I’ve loved from Threads Magazine. It’s a quick way to accurately mark the bust dart before you sew the seam on the sewing machine.

I liked this top pattern but I decided for the final top to switch to a different TNT (tried and true) sewing pattern that I’ve enjoyed.