This top has been a long time coming!
I bought a meter of rayon challis at La Caverne aux Mille Tissus in Marseille back in October of last year thinking I’d make a peplum top from In The Folds’ free pattern. I ran out of time to make it in Marseille and the fabric travelled to Spain then to Montréal where I cut it out and walked in the snow to Le Milieu for an afternoon of sewing. I didn’t finish the top then so it travelled half-finished with me to Thailand, then Indonesia and all over North America before I finally got to do some sewing here in San Diego where it looks like the nomading is coming to an end. Thanks to my high school friend Sarah for lending me her machine!
I wanted to make this pattern as soon as I saw it, it seemed like the perfect breezy top for summer. I’m not big on ruffles but the Peppermint Magazine photo convinced me that a neutral fabric would offset it nicely. This is a new silhouette for me and I think it works!
My new top was perfect for a hot day visiting Balboa Park and the San Diego Museum of Man. The main exhibits are currently on beer, monsters, pets, race and mummies so there’s really something for everyone.
I added 1″ to the bodice for my long torso and the ruffle hits just a little above my widest point. Next time I’ll try adding another inch or two to the ruffle and see if that balances me out even better without losing the cropped look. I’m currently 34A with 39″ hips and I made the the size B.
The pattern has some cool inserts at the shoulders for shaping. I like that with this busy fabric the seams aren’t visible. The armholes are just a touch deep for me and I might do a slight SBA next time I make it to compensate for some gaping.
The V in the back is just the right depth and a great detail. The binding for the V didn’t make much sense to me unfortunately and no matter what I tried there was a lot of fabric bulk at the point. It came out a little puckered but with this fabric it’s not visible. If I make this in a solid I’ll need to either figure out what’s intended or use a different technique.
Husband verdict: … actually, it doesn’t matter because I’m wearing this pretty much every day and no one can stop me! 😄
August 28, 2017 at 9:08 pm
Love this Helene, and I love that it traveled with you all that way! I need to make this pattern, as its really cute, but I’ll probably need to wait till next summer now. Ours is definitely over. So what next, if the nomading is over?
August 28, 2017 at 9:19 pm
I highly recommend it and I know you’d totally rock it! I’ll look out for it next year. 😊
We realized that our life would be simpler with a US home base and the option to travel when we want rather than when our visas expire! The constant traveling has been awesome but right now we want some time to focus on important projects at Nafundi. I also hope to free up some of the time that has gone to figuring out new grocery stores, finding housing monthly, etc to spend on fun projects like sewing and Cora! We’re city folk so we made a spreadsheet of cities we thought we could live in with columns things like for weather, access to tacos, proximity to international airport and San Diego ended up at the top! We’re looking for more permanent housing and hopefully will have a base here for the foreseeable future.