Well, once again I’ve managed to add to a ridiculously long to-do list. But when I was asked if I wanted to participate in a bloug tour for the Ansley by Christie at blaverry I absolutely could NOT pass that up. Deb from Sprouting JubeJube is hosting this one, and I had to jump at the opportunity to finally make one of Christie’s patterns.
Christie’s style is fantastic – clean, fresh, and in my opinion a wee bit nautical (I’m just baised though – we have a soft spot for nautical around our home). You aren’t going to find a lot of ruffles and pomp with her styles, which is a nice change from what the PDF market is currently trending towards. Simple, stylish peices are so essential to building a great wardrobe, and the patterns from blaverry are definitely the perfect building blocks.
When I received the pattern, I KNEW immediately what fabric I wanted to use. I’d just picked up a fabulous printed denim from Our Social Fabric, a phenominal local initiative attempting to keep textiles from the landfill. M looks fabulous in denim, so I knew that’s where I had to go with it. The only challenge then was how to mix it up enough so as to not replicate the high low top in the add listing.
Years ago I had purchased a fabulous lace, and it’s just been sitting there. To bring some romance to the top I decided to do the sleeves in lace, as well as the bottom hem, neck binding, and front placket.
The pattern itself has a TON of options, which I love to see when purchasing a PDF. 4 skirt options, 4 sleeve options, 3 collar options, and 3 hem options. The sizes are also layered within Adobe, which makes printing an absolute dream. And Christie includes a table to show you what pages to print for which options you choose. Honestly, couldn’t be any easier.
The instructions include computer generated images, and are very clear and easy to follow. However, I wouldn’t recommend the pattern for a beginner. While Christie’s directions are nice and simple to follow, you still need to know your basics otherwise you could find yourself stumped at points. But if you’ve made a few tops before (and I mean just a few, no crazy experience necessary!) you should be more than ok. Remember to press your seams (and top stitch if you’d like) to ensure a professional finish and you will adore the result.
I’d planned on making an underskirt to attach the lace edging to instead of doing a lace hem, but ended up cutting it apart as I didn’t feel like dealing with the skirt yolk while lining. The finishing touch was a trip to the thrift store to find the PERFECT buttons, in which I was thoroughly successful (and thanks to a couple of great sewing buddies for their button feedback!). I did skimp a bit and decided to use one button on the chest, leaving the placket to peek a little more cause I ADORE the lace!
The finished top is lovely. The fit is great, and the overall movement of the top on M is wonderful. I’m thrilled with how this turned out, and it will definitely be something that gets regular wear in her closet. I think I will go back and put some tucks in the cuffs – I found that the cuffs and the sleeves just didn’t match up quite right, so you’ll see a little extra lace where they come together.
I even got a little extra help from M’s amazing nanny and daddy to get some pics today while the sun was out but I was at work! Boo!
Use the code ILOVEBLAVERRY10 during the blog tour to pick up your copy of Christie’s Ansley for 10% off!!
Make sure you check out what some of these other very talented ladies have come up with!
sewoutofcontrol 
I love what you did with it! The fabrics choices are beautiful.
Thank you so much Melissa – I’m really quite excited about my very first time using this kind of lace 🙂
It looks amazing!! I love all the the stuff you make for Miss M, you really make me want to sew clothes again!