How is this for just squeezing Summer’s DCF Challenge* in?  Even with an extra day this summer, I’m getting my blog post up with only a few hours to spare.  Hopefully the autumn challenge garment post will be a little less tardy!

Emma and I bought this woven viscose from Darn Cheap Fabrics when she was down in Melbourne during the summer holidays.  We came this close to buying silk for our challenge this season, but eventually the miser in both of us kicked in and we decided that the viscose would be much more practical and significantly more budget friendly.  Not only do we have similar taste in fabrics, but we have similar spending preferences!  I wasn’t entirely certain what I’d make when we bought the fabric, but thought that a top I could wear to work would be good.  And that’s what I ended up with – a top that I can wear to work, or wear casually.

I have to admit that the pattern choice was entirely inspired by Anna.  I saw her version of the Uptown Top (from a little known to me pattern company called A Verb For Keeping Warm) and I very quickly hit the pdf pattern purchase button.   This was the pattern that I had been looking for to pair with this viscose!  The pattern company describe the top as follows: The Uptown Top is a flatteringly oversized garment, designed to be worn with a great deal of ease. Make it with the hip band and it is the perfect length to wear with tights or leggings, or make it without the hip band and it will be your new favorite top to pair with jeans or a skirt.  Wear the Uptown Top for a night out with your friends, or as a cool, lightweight layer at the beach this summer! Sew it in a variety of fabrics for different moods and occasions. 

Yes, it is super simple.  The front and back pieces are almost rectangular, although the shoulders do slope down gently.  I lowered the front neckline an inch or so.  The sleeves are elongated triangles that are sewn to the sides of the front and back pieces.  They are sewn together across the shoulders and up most of the sides, leaving an opening at the top of the side for the armhole.  This means that there is no gaping – hooray!  I didn’t bother with the hem band, but turned up a two inch hem.

I decided to sew the middle size, which is for a 44″ finished hip measurement.  This top is designed with plenty of ease.  It’s certainly not a top for those who like waist definition or a more fitted silhouette.  The triangular sleeves allow for lovely curved drape at the sides of the top, while leaving the front and back fairly straight.  It’s a little reminiscent of the Style Arc Hedy dress.

You can see the shape of the top very well in these photos.  Most construction was on the overlocker, with the hems and neckline binding on the machine.  If you make this top, remember to overlock the edges of the sleeve separately before stitching them together on the machine – this makes it much easier to turn the armhole opening to the inside for a narrow hem later on.

I made my own bias binding using an 18mm bias maker to finish the neckline.  The pattern does come with a facing option, but I tend to prefer binding in soft drapey fabric like viscose.  I chose to sew the binding to the wrong side then turn it to the right side and topstitch it down.  After a shot of steam from the iron the binding curves beautifully around the neckline and adds a tiny bit of extra detail.

I wore this top to work today with Style Arc Linda pants in navy and heeled court shoes, and felt great in it all day.  I wonder what Emma has made from her seasonal challenge fabric?

* Emma and I started the DCF Seasonal Challenge a year or two ago – we buy  a couple of metres of the same fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics each season, and each make a garment.  We then reveal it on our blogs on the same day.  It’s just a fun thing that we started when we realised how often we buy and sew the same fabrics (often from Darn Cheap).