Laura’s Ashton Top

Now that August is over, we have made the sudden “back to school” jump. I love that Hayley has taken a different approach with this box, focusing on self-care and pampering. A much-needed antithesis to the hustle and bustle that September brings.

Admittedly, I took a long time deciding what to make this month. I wanted to emulate the floaty, ethereal feel of the inspiration I got from Pinterest, but with just 1 meter of fabric, it was a tall order.

After perusing what seems like every single sewing pattern in existence, in the end I went back to basics. What I love about this fabric is that it will go with anything in my wardrobe, so it made sense to make something more practical; pared back and not too fussy. And as this georgette fabric is extremely fluid, I decided something with minimal seam lines was the best bet.

I browsed my pattern collection and the Ashton Top from Helen’s Closet fit the bill.

As a standalone pattern, it is a simple vest top, however there is an expansion pack of sleeves available to purchase separately that includes 4 sleeve types. To still embody the floaty feel I originally planned, I decided to add on the petal sleeve variation.

This fabric frays just by looking at it and it is quite sheer, so I opted to do French seams. This technique is great as it not only gives a beautifully neat finish, but it also works very well with lighter-weight fabrics that are prone to fraying as the raw edges are fully encased.

A feature I like about the Ashton top is that the hem is finished with a facing. This adds a lovely weight to the bottom, and it just hangs very nicely off your body. When it comes to finishing the neckline and armhole, you have two options– bias binding or a facing. However, if you are adding on sleeves, you cannot do a facing.

I knew that it was going to be nigh on impossible to make bias binding out of this georgette fabric as it was so fluid and bouncy, which made it difficult to press a crisp line. I had some leftover of the white modal cotton lawn from the skirt lining of the Selena set I made with the luxury fabric last month, which worked perfectly for the binding and the hem facing.

Whilst I love the look of the petal sleeves, they weren’t half fiddly! Hemming the curved lines on this fabric was difficult to say the least – another reason I’m glad I picked a pattern with minimal seams! In hindsight, I probably should have used the rolled hem on my overlocker. 

Nevertheless, I persisted, and I am so very pleased with the outcome!

I know that this is a garment that will take me through every season. Sometimes you just need to take it back to basics! 

I’ve worn it here with my Friday Pattern Company Bernadette Skirt that I made with the linen chambray that came in the August 2023 Luxury box.