Summer Strawberries - MF Summer Top

The calendar might say it's still Spring, but the buckets of sweat coming off my body says it's summer. Yes my friends, most of May has been in the high 80's and I ironically married a person who thinks air conditioning is a new fangled invention for people who lack moral character.  Since I can't blow my lizard person cover by laying around on cold rocks, the other solution was to sew a lot of new summer tops. Last week's vintage Simplicity 2086 was the first pattern out of the gate. After that I decided not worry about any grading and sew a pattern currently in print.

This year I haven't been excited about most of the new pattern releases. Must be an off year for me or something.   So it was a nice change when I saw the new Maison Fleur line and feel in love with the summer top. Those little tie shoulders, so cute!  Must buy it and whip it up IMMEDIATELY! Is there anything quite like the instant gratification of downloading a PDF? I submit that there is not.

Looking at the size chart it looked like the pattern was drafted for those of us who are...ahem... a little bottom heavy. Around these parts we like to call it "cake storage." Instead of blending two sizes, I traced a straight size twelve and made up my muslin without any changes to the pattern.  I was surprised and pleased to find that the muslin fit almost perfectly.  The only change needed was my standard shortening of the waist darts.

I thought a fun little print would be a good combination with this pattern and reached for the strawberry cotton poplin that Vibes and Scribes* sent me last month.  It's a nice light weight poplin and being 100% cotton it's very well behaved under the sewing machine. They have lots of cute print cottons and their customer service was lovely.  Definately will be added them to my list of trusted on-line retailers.

Between the easy fabric and easy to sew pattern this top got whipped up in no time. Now all I need to figure out is what fabric to use next. :)

Side note - Way back in January you might remember that I had a small sewing list of things to make. One of them was this red circle skirt that I'd bought fabric for back in December.  Well it finally got sewn last week when I needed something bright to pair with this top.  The skirt is based on the pinupgirl Doris skirt since it's a heavy weight cotton twill similar to the bottom weight cotton sateen they use. (One difference, they use a stretch cotton and this twill is non stretch.) The design is a simple 3/4 circle with a 2.25" slightly curved waistband and belt loops.  It closes in the back with a centered zipper and is 27" long. Gorgeous fabrics does still have this red twill in stock if you like it. But only buy it for pants/skirts/jackets, it's much to heavy and stiff for other garments.

Pattern
Maison Fleur 1301 Summer Blouse Pattern - View 1

Fabrics used
Cotton Poplin from Vibes and Scribes (Still available in this color. Also comes in an ivory background with black polka dots that is equally tempting.)

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Dropped the bust dart 1.25".

Confessions/Advice
- Thought I should note that the seam allowance is 3/8" on this pattern. So make sure your fitting is spot on before delving into real fabric.

- The top is constructed with "all in one facings" that are sewn on before the side seams are sewn. This makes the sewing the facings on very easy.  I did double check my fitting before inserting the side seam zipper.

Husband Comment
"I like the loopy things and the fabric is like strawberries in the stars."

My Final Thoughts
I'm currently in the mood to sew separates and this pattern coordinates well with several of the skirts in the wardrobe. It whipped up really quickly and it's very fun to wear. I'll be making a few more for certain. Current plans are trying the pattern in stretch woven and maybe turning the top into a dress.  So many possibilities!

*The strawberry fabric for this blog post was provided for free, but the pattern was bought with my own money. I didn't spend it all on shoes this month. ;)