Laura’s Lily Top
The viscose crepe in March’s Mini Box was perfect for the Experimental Space Lily Top with some contrast fabric to make the ruffle detail pop.
The first signs of spring are starting to emerge, and I for one can’t wait to shake off the seemingly endless winter chill gripping Manchester right now. Bunches of snowdrops and crocuses are sprouting from the ground to give me hope that warmer weather is ahead.
Hayley is certainly bringing the springtide joy with the fabric this month. Lovely pastel colours adorned with leaves and flowers feels so nice and fresh. Just what we need! I got the lilac colourway which I was completely enamoured with.
The viscose crepe is a perfect base for so many garments that need some drape. It is lovely and lightweight with a bit more body than a viscose. I decided on a cute top pattern with my 1 metre and the Lily top from Experimental Space Patterns fit the bill perfectly.
This was my first time making something from Experimental Space, but I know that Hayley is a fan and has had their patterns in past boxes, so I knew I would be in good hands.
I was able to get the top out of just the 1 metre with ease. There are no sleeves, just slightly grown on that cover the shoulder so this saves space when laying out your pattern pieces.
I decided to do the ruffle in a contrast fabric for a stand-out feature. This navy fabric is a cotton lawn, leftover from the I AM Barbara Shirt I used with my last mini box make and it works perfectly to bring out the blue pops in the leaves.
Sewing it up was pretty straightforward, however there are some really interesting construction details that elevate it from a standard woven top. The back piece travels over the shoulder almost like a front yoke, capturing the ruffle in between.
When you’re gathering the ruffle to attach to the back, there is a handy guide that tells you the length that you need to gather to for each size. This made it so much easier than trying to gather and match to the piece directly.
The pattern gives you two options to finish the back neckline – bias binding or overlock. I went with the lazy girl method and overlocked the full seam, although now I wish I had taken the extra time to bind it properly as it does peek out a little bit.
We live and learn!
The front neckline is finished with bias tape as well, folded and top-stitched neatly to the wrong side. It is stitched with a narrow ¼ inch seam allowance which makes it a tad fiddly.
Make sure you give the whole top a good press before you try it on to make sure that the ruffle neckline sits nice and straight. I tried it on first without doing so and it didn’t sit quite right, but a good press sorted it right out.
I absolutely love how it came out! It made me feel so ready for Springtime. The floaty nature of the top works so well in this beautiful crepe and I love the contrast with the navy ruffle.
Can’t believe I can get garments like this out of just 1 metre.