Pattern Review: Lisette Top

Simplicity 2059

One of my sewing goals at the moment is to sew more "everyday" tops. I love to wear jeans but I want to step it up from the same old jeans and t-shirt look. I sew a lot of dresses and skirts- which I do get wear out of, but not on a day to day basis. So you'll still see dresses and skirts sprinkled in but I hope to focus more on tops for a little while.

I really like how this top turned out. I love the simplicity of the design. It's just a basic, long sleeved top with a little bit of gathering detail in the back. This is one of Simplicity's Lisette patterns.

I totally went for Joanne Fabric's Lisette gimmick and bought Lisette fabric for my Lisette pattern! It cost $15 for the fabric. I actually really like this fabric. It's a very light weight cotton but not too sheer. And I think the geometric blue floral print is so cute!

This was very easy to sew. I think I spent about 4 hours on it, after cutting it out. I made an 18. It's got quite a bit of ease, I probably could have gone with the 16. But I think this looks good a little loose and flowy. The only change I made was to reduce the height of the sleeve cap in the sleeve. I've talked about this before- it makes it much easier to set in in the sleeve.

I think I might make a couple more of these during the next winter/fall season. I think this would be really cute and cozy in a flannel print too. I like the sleeveless dress also included in this pattern and will try to make it for the warmer seasons that are coming up.

~Jenny

Pattern Review: Sweater Wrap

Butterick 5680

I was surprised to discover how incredibly easy and instantly gratifying this little wrap was to make! Who knew that there is only one pattern piece to this wrap? And... it only took an hour to complete?!?! (I made view D, shown in fuchsia).

I was drawn to this pattern because I love the lines of this sweater, especially the back where the seams come together- it's quite unique. I would never have guessed that it was one pattern piece that was creating those lines!

I used a blue sweater knit that I found at Joanne Fabrics which cost about $26. This is a little more than I usually spend but I really like the fabric. It's cozy without being too heavy. Plus after cutting out this wrap, I think I have enough left over for another sweater top. The pattern piece is long but not wide. You need the yardage for the length, but you will have a good amount left over in the width.

After cutting it out, I whipped it together in about an hour. I did take a shortcut however. I did not hem all the way around the neck, front, and bottom. I thought it actually looked cleaner, and less bulky when left unhemmed. You can get away with this when using a knit, as long as you cut your edges neatly. However, I did hem the sleeves- mostly to conceal the seam allowances in back.

I used a broach I already owned to fasten the fronts together. I've worn this twice now. Once I wore it open, without the broach. I think it looks great either way. It's an easy way to upgrade your jeans and t-shirt look by throwing this on!

~Jenny