Floaty pink top

front view

I've made myself a summer top this week.  This pink, floaty, gathered little number will be for the hottest summer days, over a pair of denim shorts, or for the cooler, cloudy days paired with a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

The pattern is from the Spring/Summer edition of Ottobre Woman.

I've read about Ottobre, and admired Ottobre clothes made by others for a while now.  When another magazine subscription expired recently, I treated myself to a subscription to Ottobre instead and I am so glad that I did.  I can see why sewers love this magazine so much.  In fact it is not really a magazine, but more of a pattern collection.

The instructions are condensed, but clear enough - particularly if you've made clothes before. 

I didn't know what raglan seams for sleeves were, but a quick google sorted that out.  Nothing too taxing. 

My only real mistake was not reading the information about seam allowances before I started.  The seam allowances are not included on the pattern peices and you need to add them youself before you cut out your fabric.  Luckily with such a floaty top, it didn't matter at all for the front, back and sleeves.  The neck and sleeve bindings ended up being narrower (and therefore more fiddly) than they should have been, but I managed.  And I've now written a reminder on the envelope of pattern pieces.

The pattern I made is this one:

I love how Ottobre use models of all ages and sizes.  The model's top is made from a very lightweight voile, but mine is made from quilting cotton.

As with O's strawberry top I treated my first attempt at this top as a muslin, and made it with whatever fabric I liked and had enough of.  It has so many gathers that I knew it would need a very lightweight fabric which drapes nicely to avoid the 'is she pregnant?' look.  The quilting cotton is absolutely fine, but I will invest in some Anna Maria Horner voile for my next one, because I think it would look and feel fabulous.  A few gathers in a top can be a tricky look to pull off, but this top has so many that, happily, it looks floaty rather than pregnant when I put it on.

back view

I need to get some labels to go in my handmade clothes.  I have a reel of this 'With love' tape, which is nice if I am giving something away, but looks a bit odd in something I've made for myself.  And I need labels in my clothes to be able to tell the front from the back and make it feel finished.

There are several other things in this issue of Ottobre that I want to make.  A simple silk dupion skirt with a shirred waistband, a straight skirt with patch, combat-style pockets and the beautiful dress on the cover.

But first, perhaps another one of these in that inky blue voile I've been coveting!