FO: Lotta Jansdotter Sailor Top

So after my Memorial Day Weekend Sewing Extravaganza, I thought I wouldn't have any further time to sew before I needed to move. My house was under contract, so I figured I would be packing everything up, but some snags came up pretty soon that left us in a weird limbo. And then I got sick. I had a virus that turned into a chest infection and bronchitis :/ So while I wanted very much to be productive, I didn't have any definites on my moving situation, plus I just didn't have much energy and would fall into horrible coughing fits if I exerted myself much. What to do when you can't do responsible things you should be doing? Why not sew something, right?

This is my second version of the Sailor Top from the Fancy Tiger Crafts Creativebug Class. This pattern is seriously so simple, but I love my first version and wear it all the time. I bought this Lotta Jansdotter print quilting cotton in January at The Sewing Studio with this shirt in mind. I actually bought it to wear with another fabric I bought, but we will talk about that in my next post. This fabric is called Faril and it has acid green/yellow butterflies on it.

My first version was in a drapey Swiss dot cotton, but they say in the class that it works great for quilting cotton, so I decided to give it a try. I've generally found I'm not a fan of wearing quilting cotton - much to the chagrin of my previous self who bought tons of the stuff to make clothing with over the years. It's just a bit stiff and thick for Florida summer. I don't mind it in winter at all, but that's only like 1 month of the year. Anyway, this pattern is a raglan top that gathers into the neck yoke. The sleeves have a simple facing for the hem, and I love how it makes the top stitching deeper into the sleeve as this echos the yoke and hem.

The only adjustment I made this time was to shorten the neck yoke by 1/2" as a hollow chest adjustment. My first version goes out a bit far and sometimes shows my bra, so I just wanted to fix that. In this stiffer fabric though I can see other adjustments I need to make. Most notably is that I need a major forward shoulder adjustment. I need to move the shoulder seam forward almost an inch, so while I don't love this back photo I'm wondering how much of my back fit issues are caused by the need of this adjustment. I'll have to try it out on my next version and see what a difference that makes.

It also doesn't look so bad when it's untucked, oddly enough, which contributes to my thinking it's caused by the forward shoulder issue. Other than this slight shift the top is nice and comfy, if a bit stiff. I'm hoping it will soften up with washing.

This is a more accurate representation of the color of the butterflies. They are a great acidic green :) This is just a close up of the few details this shirt has - all very simple. There really isn't too much to say about this shirt since it only took 2 hours to make, lol. So easy.

Interestingly, while I really like this shirt (and I've worn it several times already with compliments each time), I don't really like it for the skirt I originally bought it to go with. I bought this fabric so that the skirt I planned to make with it would not be a wardrobe orphan, but I may have fixed that now - we'll see. So while at first I was a bit bummed it didn't work entirely as planned (though the idea is growing on me a bit more now I've had some time away from making it), I really like this shirt just for itself. Who would've thought so many people would compliment a quilting cotton top in an unobtrusive print? And such a simple shape? It's kind of baffling. I've worn this tucked in as well as untucked, and I like it both way. So I'm glad that an item I wasn't super fond of at first has turned into a nice item in its own right :) I really love this pattern, and I have a nice little stack of other versions planned in my head. If you haven't tried this (whether through the class or as an individual pattern), I definitely recommend you change that. It's a great piece!

Summary:
Fabric: 2 yards Faril by Lotta Jansdotter quilting cotton - $9.23
Pattern: Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts via Creativebug class
Notions: White thread - $1.00
Time: 2 hours
Total Cost: $ 10.23

*Affiliate links included, though my membership is purchased with my own money and my opinion is uninfluenced.