4 years ago
I knew this Minerva exclusive fabric, Parading Palms was for me the moment I saw it, it has all the design elements I love, it's bold, it's in Autumnal colours and it has a bit of a '70s vibe. In addition to the traditional Autumn shades of camel, cream, and rust there's also Navy blue. This is great for me as it means I can wear Navy for once without it dominating and making me look even paler than I naturally am.
If you've seen any recent posts here, you'll know that in the last few months, I've sewn wide-leg trousers. I wanted a more fitted top to give balance so I chose to sew the Barbie Top from Gertie's pattern company Charm Patterns, it's one that you buy via a Patreon subscription. Gertie is renowned for her Vintage style and this top is designed to be very fitted, so requires fabric with a minimum 50% stretch.
This loop-backed French Terry has 30% width-wise stretch and 50% length-wise, so on paper, it didn't quite fit the brief, but I decided it was close enough to give it a try. I found the fabric to be a versatile weight, it's not as bulky as some loopback French Terry fabrics, but is thicker than a standard cotton jersey, which makes it a great weight for dresses and tops.
Sewing with this stretch fabric was a breeze as this pattern can be made entirely on an overlocker or a domestic sewing machine. I chose to use my overlocker for a professional finish, but a domestic machine would work just as well. It's not a fabric that slips around and is well-behaved, which is always welcome.
There are some large circles in the design, and I spent a little time thinking about where I wanted those to be placed on the final top. The main thing I was trying to avoid was circles on boobs!
This pattern is wonderfully inclusive and comes in sizes 2 - 30, with 60" being the largest hip size. My bust and hip measurements would make me a size 8 and my waist a size 10. The pattern states that it's drafted with negative ease except at the bust, so given the fabric has less width-wise stretch than needed I decided to err on the side of caution and make a size 10. This was completely unnecessary; I really should have made the size 8 as the apex of the shoulder seam was a good 3cm off my shoulder. I did re-sew this and it’s still not perfect, but I’m hoping nobody will notice!
I also had an issue with the bust when it came to fit, whilst the pattern discusses cup sizes you use the same pattern piece for cups from A to DD. (Larger cup sizes have a darted bodice piece). I feel there's quite a difference between my B/C cup and a DD and as this part of the pattern has positive ease, I found the final garment left me with a strange flap of additional fabric at the side of the bust area. Not a good look! I whipped it off with the overlocker and am now very happy with the finished result.
I chose to use the neckband that comes as standard, which is slightly higher than a regular crew neck but there's also a turtle neck option if you fancy a more Wintery version. There are also multiple sleeve length choices including sleeveless which really does fit the Vintage look.
I'm really happy with the finished result, it was worth taking a gamble with the stretch. I can get it on over my head easily and given that I had to make changes I don't think that I needed to size up after all. I've now got a lovely warm fitted top to wear with both my wide-leg trouser and my high-waisted skirt so I'm super happy.
If you've seen any recent posts here, you'll know that in the last few months, I've sewn wide-leg trousers. I wanted a more fitted top to give balance so I chose to sew the Barbie Top from Gertie's pattern company Charm Patterns, it's one that you buy via a Patreon subscription. Gertie is renowned for her Vintage style and this top is designed to be very fitted, so requires fabric with a minimum 50% stretch.
This loop-backed French Terry has 30% width-wise stretch and 50% length-wise, so on paper, it didn't quite fit the brief, but I decided it was close enough to give it a try. I found the fabric to be a versatile weight, it's not as bulky as some loopback French Terry fabrics, but is thicker than a standard cotton jersey, which makes it a great weight for dresses and tops.
Sewing with this stretch fabric was a breeze as this pattern can be made entirely on an overlocker or a domestic sewing machine. I chose to use my overlocker for a professional finish, but a domestic machine would work just as well. It's not a fabric that slips around and is well-behaved, which is always welcome.
There are some large circles in the design, and I spent a little time thinking about where I wanted those to be placed on the final top. The main thing I was trying to avoid was circles on boobs!
This pattern is wonderfully inclusive and comes in sizes 2 - 30, with 60" being the largest hip size. My bust and hip measurements would make me a size 8 and my waist a size 10. The pattern states that it's drafted with negative ease except at the bust, so given the fabric has less width-wise stretch than needed I decided to err on the side of caution and make a size 10. This was completely unnecessary; I really should have made the size 8 as the apex of the shoulder seam was a good 3cm off my shoulder. I did re-sew this and it’s still not perfect, but I’m hoping nobody will notice!
I also had an issue with the bust when it came to fit, whilst the pattern discusses cup sizes you use the same pattern piece for cups from A to DD. (Larger cup sizes have a darted bodice piece). I feel there's quite a difference between my B/C cup and a DD and as this part of the pattern has positive ease, I found the final garment left me with a strange flap of additional fabric at the side of the bust area. Not a good look! I whipped it off with the overlocker and am now very happy with the finished result.
I chose to use the neckband that comes as standard, which is slightly higher than a regular crew neck but there's also a turtle neck option if you fancy a more Wintery version. There are also multiple sleeve length choices including sleeveless which really does fit the Vintage look.
I'm really happy with the finished result, it was worth taking a gamble with the stretch. I can get it on over my head easily and given that I had to make changes I don't think that I needed to size up after all. I've now got a lovely warm fitted top to wear with both my wide-leg trouser and my high-waisted skirt so I'm super happy.