FO: Botany Voile Sailor Top

This is a case of falling in love with a fabric and then figuring out what to do with it, lol. When I was at The Sewing Studio in July, I saw this beautiful line of cotton voiles from Windham Fabric's Botany line - there were 3 different similar designs with different background colors. I figured the white background would fit in my wardrobe best, so I bought 2 yards to make a top with it. After finding the burgundy twill fabric I used to make my Melissa skirt a month or so later, I figured this fabric would look great with that on the bottom, so I pulled this out and deliberated over what top to make. I entertained several designs I hadn't tried before, but knowing I wanted the fabric to be the star of the show and already knowing I could make it fit well, I went with my tried-and-true Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts (courtesy of the Creativebug class).

I knew I wanted this specific outfit, but it took me months to have the time to make these pieces up. Originally I planned to wear the top tucked in like shown above, but after my issues with the burgundy skirt I wore the top untucked and I really liked how it looked :) So this is all a win. I finished both of these pieces in time to wear the outfit to a shower my family threw for me (more on that soon) and I wore my spanking new Kate Spade silver metallic leather Keds (and I'm a total old lady because I bought a silver metallic leather watch band to match my shoes, lol). I really liked this outfit since it was all new (a novel thing for me anymore) and exactly what I wanted to wear. Don't you love when that happens?

But back to the top. Having made this pattern 2 other times, I've tweaked a few things each time. This time I knew I wanted to add a 1" forward head adjustment to my already added 1/2" hollow chest adjustment. My last version was made in a quilting cotton, which really exaggerated the issue that the shoulder seam was 1" too far back. After a panicked moment before closing up the neckband facing and thinking it wouldn't fit, I powered through and I can say that the fit is spot on for me :) My neckband doesn't gape or slide around to show my bra straps, but it's not restricting. I've finally got it!

So my only niggle would be that my side seams dip downward to a slight point - I'm really not sure why this happens on me, but it happens on most all of my shirts. It always looks fine on the pattern and the seams line up fine, so it must be something about my body that I need to adjust for. That will be my next puzzle to solve, I guess.

I'm really happy with the fit on the back even :) My hair covers it, but it is slightly poufy where it gathers to the yoke, so again that's super particular but on a simple top like this why not try to get it right? This is the first time I haven't had wrinkling in the upper back on this shirt and I'm really happy with it.

Here it is tucked in like I originally thought I wanted. The shirt itself looks great tucked in, so I will definitely be wearing it like this with other skirts. The voile is crisp and breathable, but still soft for the gathers and tucking in. I think it will soften even more with a few more washes. It's just the best fabric, lol.

But this is how I wore it on the first day, and on each day since. It's funny - this fabric was a little more of a splurge than I usually justify, but it was such nice quality and such a pretty print. When I was deciding what pattern to use, I thought of this pattern first but it felt like it was too simple for such nice fabric, lol. Silly how our brains work, right? Because this pattern was really perfect for this fabric and I'm so pleased with the results.

Summary:
Fabric: 2 yards Botany Full Bloom in White cotton voile by Windham fabrics - $16.05
Pattern: Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts via Creativebug
Notions: thread - $1.50
Time:
Total Cost: $ 17.55

FO: Red Dotted Swiss Sailor Top

Ever since joining Creativebug last year, I've planned on making the Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts. It's such a simple shape and seemed pretty flattering in general, plus the examples were just so cute! I had to give it a try. I finally decided to just dive in a few weeks ago.

So, this is the Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts. The pattern is part of a class on Creativebug, so you print out and assemble the pattern like normal, but the instructions are given in video form. The class itself is very easy to follow, giving close up demonstrations of each step. The class is designed that even a beginner could end up with a cute shirt. You can use any type of fabric you like, and while the quilting cotton examples are tempting, I knew I wanted to use something different.

My fabric is a simple dotted Swiss cotton in red that I bought when Hancock Fabrics was going out of business. We're talking in the last days of their business, meaning this was one of the few remaining bolts. Which is kind of surprising since this is nice fabric. It's a light, breezy cotton that is just slightly sheer but the color helps with the opacity. I bought 2 yards not having any clue what I would make, but it was only $2 a yard so I went for it. It suddenly struck me that it would be great for this pattern :) Gotta love those random bits of inspiration. I think the dotted texture really helps a very plain top.

This fabric really is great for this pattern. There is a bit of shaping at the waist, but mostly this is just a boxy top. The fact that this fabric has a nice drape really helps keep me from looking like a lego brick. If I pull my arms out (like above) it definitely looks a bit boxy, but I don't typically stand that way, lol. I think the real saving grace is that it flares just a touch at the hip, giving the illusion of shaping.

I was skeptical about raglan sleeves on my shoulders, but I'm happy they look good :) The raglan sleeves seem to give my shoulders a bit of extra pouf which I'm never opposed to. I like the sleeve bands as well - it all balances well together I think. Even though the design is simple, it's well thought out because the sleeve hems, bottom hem, and neck band all have a similar look when finished.

It may be a bit wide of a neckline with my shape. I had to adjust the neck throughout the day when I wore it the first time - not so much it bugged me, but enough that I realize it's not perfect fitting. But really how much fitting can you do on a top like this?

So that's my Sailor top :) I have a few random fabric cuts in things like rayon that I think would be great in tops like this, so I'm sure I will be making more. The nice thing is that this pattern come with your membership to Creativebug, so if you're interested I'd definitely recommend following the links!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards red dotted Swiss cotton - $4.00
Pattern: Sailor Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts on Creativebug
Notions: red thread - $0.50
Time: 3.5 hours
Total Cost: $4.50

*I am an affiliate of Creativebug, and I get a little something if you sign up through me. I bought my membership with my own money, and all opinions about this pattern are completely my own. I just really liked this class :)