FO: Forest Friends Sorrel Top

This week marked a momentous occasion - I used one of my most beloved pieces of fabric :) This week is Selfish Sewing Week plus it's the final few days of Sewing Indie Month, so it just seemed fitting that I make something I truly love for myself.

I used the Sorrel pattern again - I've wanted to make another ever since my first version. I wear that shirt about once a week I love it so. It's comfortable and flattering and a little different. All my favorite things!

Again, my hair obscures the fancy collar detail, so here's a shot with my hair behind me. I used a little of this amazing fabric for the body. The fabric is from Joann's in their Doodles line for kids and it's called Majestic Cord Woodland Animals. Sally over at The Quirky Peach posted about this fabric when she found it back in June and I was thrilled to find the same fabric at my local store during their 4th of July sale. I grabbed 3 yards to possibly make a dress, but I'm still torn about knit dresses on me. In the meantime, I just wanted to make something, and I still have enough left for that dress should I decide to take the plunge. This fabric is 100% cotton and it's like a super soft interlock knit. I paired my beloved fabric with some simple white interlock from my stash for the collar and sleeve cuffs.

I went for the cuffs on the sleeves again, because it's just such a fun detail :) I will confess that this time the shirt took much longer to make due to a) me being really picky and b) making stupid mistakes. I had the bobbin run out twice since I decided to use partially filled ones instead of just winding a full one :/ Of course this happened while top stitching and about halfway across the front of the shirt. Like I said, I'm picky, and I just couldn't look down and see a restarted top stitching line on the front of my favorite fabric, so I pulled the whole thing out. The other issue was the stitching in the ditch around the collar. I used white thread to stitch between the collar and body of the shirt, but it was visible every so often which I knew would drive me nuts. I picked out the entire thing. Ugh, it was not fun. I switched to purple thread after that and it came out much better.

The obligatory mannequin shots. Another change I made from my last version is that I lengthened the body and twin needle hemmed instead of adding a hem band. I like this way much better. I think it's a little more laid back looking to just have a standard hem, plus I don't like how hem bands tighten the shirt up around your hips - this one is more free flowing and comfy.

Here are some close up shots :) If you look really closely around the back collar you can see my purple thread. I'm pretty ridiculously proud of getting it so hidden. It was a long, slow line of stitching, but it was totally worth taking the extra effort.

And the insides. The collar facing just fascinates me on this shirt - it's so great that it sits so flat and I never have to worry about it. Totally comfy :)

And there you have it! My forest friends sorrel top :) I know that I will wear the heck out of this top and I will bask in its five-year-old-like goodness. Maybe I'll name the critters? Is that going too far?

Summary:
Fabric: 3/4 yard of Doodles woodland print interlock knit - $5.00, white cotton interlock knit - free (in the stash for years)
Pattern: Sorrel Top and Dress by Seamster Patterns
Notions: knit fusible interfacing - $0.50, woolly nylon thread, polyester thread in white and purple
Hours: 7 (due to mistakes)
Total Cost: $5.50