Twinkle Sews: 'On the sidelines' top

I loved this top as soon as I saw it in Wenlan Chia's book 'Twinkle Sews'.

I have been so busy lately making other things that this top was put on the backburner. Then, last week, I finally set aside some time to make it. And, I have to say, it was worth the wait! I'm thrilled to bits with this.

Now, this is not a quick project. The book classes this top as 'Advanced' and it was certainly time consuming and fiddly, although that was partly due to the fabric I chose. I used an unstable, lightweight, cottony, soft knit (can you tell I'm not sure what it was?), which looks and feels lovely, but stretched horribly out of shape at every cut edge. There are 14 pattern pieces used for this top which ends up being 22 pieces once everything is cut out. You need your wits about you to keep track of all those, I can tell you!

This gorgeous front pocket was a work of art in itself. It was made with five pieces, two with the scalloped curves, that needed to be joined and topstitched (and, in my case, pressed and pressed to shrink those stretched-out edges) before attaching the rivets. I used a little kit I'd found at a jumble sale with little silver and diamonte rivets that were very simple to apply with a plastic tool. I imagine craft shops would have these. So fun :)

Then it's straight into the interesting neckline/shoulder panels with button detail at the front. I had one pattern piece left over from this that I never did find a use for! The sleeves have several sections too, which I changed slightly to increase the length of the sleeve. I added long cuffs so the sleeves were full length for winter.

The instructions were slightly lacking for this top and I had to feel my way and check the picture to work out quite a lot of the construction. However, the pattern pieces are well drafted and I love the attention to detail in the design and the addition of the buttons and rivets. I just took my time and enjoyed the ride. By the way, I've mentioned before that the size chart is odd in this book, but I went with my measurements again and made a size 8. The fit seems right to me.

I loved this so much when I put it on that I wore it two days in a row, despite getting a bit of lunch on the pocket that I had to Photoshop out of these pictures! It is a bit sheer, so I have a cream top underneath. Next time I'll look for one with a higher neckline to match.

So yeah, a new top that feels very designer to casual old me. Lots of work, but so worth it.

I think so anyway.