This top makes me incredibly happy. The fabric was of course a total impulse, love at first sight, buy…after swearing off pale pink.
I’ve made this top before (you can see here) but am still shocked by how big a difference thicker knit fabric makes.
The Fabric
Spoonflower has been on my radar for awhile, I would say it’s the most known custom printing fabric company around. There are SO many designs that are absolutely gorgeous but reviews have been mixed and the price is steep so I stuck with browsing!! However, it was the Kokeshi Dollhead Blossom fabric that finally made me bite the bullet and actually make a purchase.
My biggest concern and what I’ve read around is that the print fades off quite easily. I’ve washed this a few times and it’s holding perfectly but only time will tell. For the moment I can’t complain.
Still, I’m not overly impressed with the quality, for a £15 plus a meter fabric (I chose organic cotton) the feel was not the luxury I was expecting for that price and this stretched so badly, even with my walking foot. It was the worst knit I’ve ever worked with and if you look at the hem on the sleeves you can see the stretch. A design has to really take my breath away before I but from them away
Despite this expensive fabric choice I’m actually quite a cheap person. So in a misdirected way to save money I only bought a meter of the fabric. What can you do with a meter of fabric?? With such an obvious print!! Definitely not a loose batwing top, as I found out….after cutting out most of this top. Luckily I cut out the front first, so the hunt through the stash was on to find a fabric for the back of the top and thankfully this black fabric worked! I was a bit worried it would look like the mistake it was.
However, I think it worked perfectly and intensifies the print and the black hair of the dolls. It’s definitely a mistake turned good.
I just love this print and plan on making black leggings, from the same fabric used for the back of the top, to make this my ultimate I’m-not-leaving-the-house outfit.
The pattern
It’s all in my first post but to sum it up, love the pattern and you can get it here.
The fit
I am slightly astounded about what a difference a thickness is knit makes. The batwing feature of this top is so much more obvious in a medium weight knit and the sleeves look much better. The actual top doesn’t fair so well, it doesn’t hang nicely and
In the next version of this top (yep, it’s looking to be my to go to pattern) the sleeves are gonna be in a medium weight knit and the top pattern pieces will be in a light weight knit to give it that nice drape.
Even with such little fabric at hand, I did have plan for the dolls heads. I did want the lips in the middle of the neckband and the upside down heads first. Which still looks a bit haphazard!!
Happy sewing and sorry I missed everyone who went to SewBrum, just realised before I bought the train ticket up that I was going to be in Paris that weekend, which can’t complain about! but I really did miss a good old sewing meet up.
Meg xxx
