Seeing as I have a large collection of absolutely beautiful wovens, I try to find patterns that I can use to make them in to pretties for M. Problem is, I’m not huge into ruffles and since I’m planning for fall, long sleeves are a must.
I also find it increasingly difficult to find patterns that are truly unique, and have their own flair. I love straight edges and clean-cut corners, so when I found the Every Day Top by Tie Dye Diva, I knew I had a winner. Almost.
When you peruse patterns on Etsy, sometimes you only get one view of it. And a lot of the time, designers are wonderful enough to offer multiple variations and takes on a pattern when you purchase just a single PDF. It’s sometimes like getting 2 or 3 (or even 7 or 8) in one. At first, I found it insanely annoying to scroll through an etsy shop and see the same thing over and over again, re-listed half a dozen times. Until now.
The first time I saw the Every Day Top I scrolled right past it. M’s face is so round, that peter pan collars just don’t flatter her. But when I happened upon another view of the top with the square collar and accent piping, I knew I HAD to have it. No hesitation at all on this one, it was mine.
In to the stash I dove. I decided that I wanted to do the accent piping, as well as an accent cuff and though I was nervous about coordinating (not my strong suit) I found two patterns in my woven stash I figured would work well.
When I started cutting the pattern, I made the mistake of not laying out all my pieces first. In such, I discovered I was maybe an inch shy on my sleeve length. So, I figured to take a risk and make a 3/4 length sleeve, hoping that it wouldn’t end in an odd place on M. Of course, once I cut the pieces out and turned around, I realized I had another piece of the material sitting over the chair behind me. Oh well.
Sewing up the top went well. Slow, but well. I fuddled around a little with the wording when doing the piping, but that was again my late night brain not processing well. The instructions were very very detailed, and included a huge number of helpful photos, which I was grateful for. Mainly because I learnt two new techniques.
I did my very first continuous lap placket! As fancy as that sounds, it was so very simple and I think I can entirely credit that to amazingly well written instructions. When I showed it to a seamstress friend she didn’t believe it was the first time I’d done one, which I took as meaning I’d done well. Jen from Tie Dye Diva recommends that if you have not done one before you may want to try it out with a scrap first, but with her instructions being so fantastic I really think everyone would do just fine.
I also learned how to attach sleeves. Again, pretty sure it’s relatively rookie, but I’d never actually attached woven sleeves to a top before. So, again carefully following her directions as well as her helpful troubleshooting tips, I managed to attach two beautiful, and more importantly perfectly symmetrical sleeves. And I didn’t even have to use her ‘cheater’ method (which is awesome that she provides one!).
The result – a fabulous shirt that I LOVE. Of course, the cuffs are a little high, though they look entirely ok. Because of their height they are the slightest bit more snug than I would have liked, but overall, this pattern will now be a go-to for us. At least, it will be when I cut the sleeves properly!
sewoutofcontrol 
Great job. Tie Dye Diva patterns are just the best, aren’t they? I belive I have this one in my stash but have not made it yet.
I am thankful for multiple listing because I too have scrolled right past patterns before then later found that they were exactly what I was looking for when I saw another view.
The first time I did the continous lap placket I did do a practice one on a scrap just to wrap my head around the idea. The instructions were great but it is hard to get the concept into one’s brain. Doing a practice one is more for confidence than anything. Then you can take the practice one and put it in your sewing technique scrap book. (of which I keep meaning to start).
It was the first Tie Dye I’ve done, and I’ll definitely do another!
And what is this sewing technique scrap book you speak of? I’ve heard of doing a stitch book or sampler, but never thought of a technique book! Right now I print out sections of tutorials that I found helpful and compile them into a makeshift technique cheat sheet 😉
You’re so right Marlene – I really should start a technique book. I’ve been playing more lately with some new machine feet and whatnot, so I should jut do it!
And as for the Tie Dye Diva pattern – it really was wonderful. You should see it up for sure – would love to see it when you do 🙂