Casual Lady Top

I sewed something that wasn't a muslin!! I was starting to think I had forgotten how.

After fighting with the fit of Mitch's pants for 2 weeks, I wanted to quick project that wouldn't require any fitting. When Andrea released the Casual Lady top, I knew I had my project.

Not only was this the perfect, easy project, proceeds from the pattern sale benefit young mothers trying to escape the sex trade, so not only do you get a fun sewing project, you do some good as well. The pattern is designed for fairly stable knits with good recovery. I chose a mint green rib knit that while fairly beefy, probably was a little more unstable than was ideal for the pattern.

The top is very simple - just 4 four pattern pieces, and goes together very quickly. There are a few other kimono sleeve tee patterns out there, but this one is a little different in that the neckline is finished with a facing rather than a band or binding. In general, I really hate facings, particularly on knits. There I said it. But they do have their place, and look quite polished when done right.

In my case, my fabric (This rib knit has somewhat poor recovery.) made getting the neckline right a bit of a challenge. Since the knit is quite stretchy, the neckline stretched out just a little bit while sewing, even with the presser foot pressure on the lightest setting. You can see in the above photo that the neckline sticks out just a little from the dress form. Still, it looks pretty nice and I love how smooth it looks without any topstitching. The facing spans across the shoulder and is caught in the sleeve hem, which is a great way to keep it in place. It also gives the shoulder a bit of structure, which makes this a fabulous layering top. It gives a very nice line under a cardigan or jacket.

I wore my top with a bias cut linen midi skirt and belted it with my Texas rodeo belt. Cowboy boots were obviously a must! It's a very wearable, comfortable top and easily dressed up or down. It was perfect for playing at the park today!