My first top! I decided to keep it simple by choosing a beginner-friendly pattern that is similar to something I already have in my closet.

This project is step one in a larger effort to become more comfortable wearing color and pattern. With this project I’ve chosen a fabric in a color I am already comfortable wearing, but is slightly more vivid and has a bit more texture than what I would typically choose.

Figuring out what size to make was a bit of a guessing game. The pattern suggests choosing your size based on your bust measurement, so looking at their size chart I initially thought I would make a medium. However, the finished garment measurements show that the finished bust dimension for the size small ends up being 1″ smaller than my actual bust measurement. Luckily the pattern included a note on fit that says if you’re between sizes you can size down, so that’s what I did.

Aside from the bias tape, all of the pattern pieces were cut on the fold. I made sure to press the fabric along one of the vertical lines to ensure it would be centered nicely on both to front and back sides.

Two terms I had to immediately look up were staystitch and understitch. Understanding what a staystitch was was easy enough, but I definitely had to watch a few videos to grasp the understitch.

Something else that was new to me was bias tape! I had to watch a few videos to understand what to do, but after completing the neckline, the armholes were a breeze!

I forgot to take any photos of the rest of the process, but attaching the hem facing was fairly quick and easy. There’s a tiny bit of puckering along one of the side seams, but I hope that as the top relaxes a bit it’ll be less noticeable. It’s probably not noticeable to anyone but me in the first place…

Overall, I am happy with the outcome. This pattern was a good place to start from, and I can see it becoming something I make over and over again in a wide variety of colors and patterns!

A couple of things I might play around with in future iterations are the length and cut. The pattern did include a lengthen/shorten line, but I wanted to see where the standard size would fall and go from there (for reference, I am 5’10”). I might also try a version with a straighter side seam! We shall see!

Pattern: Sunny Side Tank by Matchy Matchy Sewing Club
Fabric: Anderson Green Leno Weave Premium Linen from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club
Size Made: Small