Silk and Linen Harvest Top

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been sewing, just hadn't gotten around to blogging. But three creations were photographed today so I have no excuse to be lazy in updating here for the rest of the month.

First up is the Harvest Top, a free pattern from Peppermint Magazine, made by Pattern Runway in collaboration with The Fabric Store. I tend to mostly make dresses and skirts, and have only made a couple of blouses, but I liked the boxy, softly oversized style of this one.

I decided that, seeing as the pattern has separate yoke and waistband pieces, that I'd make them with a contrasting fabric. The main silk fabric is a lightweight check taffeta from Tessuti that I've seen there for quite a while but never had any ideas for. I wanted the contrast fabric to be less fancy, so that the top could be dressed up or down. I wandered around the shop trying to find a good matching contrast for the yoke and waistband, but was indecisive about what I wanted. In the end I grabbed a grey cotton that seemed the right shade. Unfortunately I didn't realise until I got home that is was very much a stretch fabric and completely useless for this top. Oops. So I headed to Spotlight where I found this basic grey linen and decided it'd have to do. Luckily, the fabrics work together (at least I think so!), so my stuff up wasn't too much of a problem.

So making the pattern. I haven't used a Pattern Runway pattern before, but it was pretty straightforward, and easy to follow instructions. I am a bit smaller than the smallest size, so given that this top is already slightly oversized I decided to take in the sides an inch or so, which was easy enough. It's still probably a little looser on me that it's designed to be, but not so much that it looks like I'm wearing the wrong size. It just looks like a loose fit boxy blouse, which is exactly what it is.

The blouse buttons up the back, which I really like. I inherited a large box full of buttons from my grandma, and very luckily found these etched grey buttons that match the linen and complement the silk. There were even exactly the five buttons I needed for the top!

The looser, squarer shape of this top is different to what I tend to wear, but I like it. I think the combination of the cut and the fabrics means it has both structure and softness. And I'm already looking around Pattern Runway's site at their other patterns trying to decide what other patterns I want to make!