Two new tops for spring

Over the past week I was able to sew two new spring tops for myself. This will probably be the last bit of sewing I do for a while, as in about two weeks I leave for a three week vacation to South America, the first trip I've been on in over ten years!



This white top is #44 from the Japanese sewing book "Natural Fabric Summer Clothes & Goods". The fabric is a linen I found in the remnants bin at Fabricland, costing me about $12 to make. I pretty much stuck to the pattern and didn't make any alterations. It was a quick sew - from cutting out the pattern to the very finish I think it only took about two hours.

This blue tunic is dress "I" from the Japanese pattern book "Stylish Dress Book". I shortened it to make it a top rather than a dress. It was fairly simply to make and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

New top

This is tunic "E" from the Japanese pattern book "Stylish Dress Book". For some reason, I had a terrible time with this top - I had to re-do one of the sleeves, and although I was as careful as I could be lining up the pin tucks along the front, they aren't quite even at the outer ends, even though it is centered. What I discovered is that my body is not symmetrical, I have one shoulder higher than the other and it also protrudes more forward than the other, which means that my clothes always seem a bit crooked. It was more obvious with this top because of the pin tucks. I don't even know how to adjust for this.


As much as I love pockets, I didn't add them to this top because I felt it would have added too much bulk with this fabric, which is another batik called "Elementals: Lots of Dots" by Lunn Studios. I also shortened the length, and opted to add darts in the back rather than gathers (which I hate doing).

This will probably be the last piece of clothing I'll be able to make for myself for a while, as I'm busy preparing for several fall/pre-Christmas craft shows, including this one:

New Top

Tunic "O" from the Japanese pattern book Stylish Dress Book. The fabric is a batik called Willow (Aspen), by McKenna Ryan. I chose this top because of the shape, but I also wanted to learn how to do an elastic gathering. I hate sewing gathers, especially with elastic - I don't know how to gauge how much fabric and elastic is needed, or how to space the gathers so they look natural. I ended up removing the elastic after my first attempt because it was too tight, and replaced it with a longer length. This will be another nice top for fall; I love tunics, I find them really comfortable, and they help hide some of my more curvy bits.

New Dress

Dress Y from the Japanese pattern book Stylish Dress Book. I'm so happy with how this turned out. Although I have to say, I found drafting the pattern more difficult from this book compared to other Japanese pattern books: all of the pattern lines are the same colour and the same pieces are used for variations, so sometimes I didn't know where the lines ended. And even though I'm using the next size up to accommodate for seam allowance, I still find it a bit snug around the bust/back, so for the next project I'll have to make some adjustments.

Another top

Here's another top I made from the Japanese pattern book "Tunic and One-Piece". It's actually a pattern for a tunic, but I shortened it for a top, and altered the neckline. Because the Japanese pattern books don't include seam allowance, I've discovered that using the next size up is an easy way to accommodate for this.

Top from Japanese pattern book

I'm slowly getting used to making clothes from the Japanese pattern books, so much so that I just ordered two more books. This top is from "Natural Fabric Summer Clothes & Goods" (ISBN 9784834725506). This book has patterns for household items, such as cutains and bags, along with clothes.




I altered the pattern a bit by lengthening the sleeves, and at the collar: I opted for a small V opening rather than button details. It will be a perfect top for the fall.