The Mother’s Day Top

Hello there!

Don’t you just love it when a pattern takes you by surprise and surpasses your expectations. I do and I find it even more wonderful when my creation is a gift for someone special.

This was certainly the case with the Threadcount 1616 pattern pictured below.

The pattern came free with an early issue of Sew Now magazine, and while I liked it, I didn’t love it. Nevertheless it survived a recent pattern stash purge and a few weeks ago I decided to give it ago. I’ve not had much time for dressmaking recently due to house renovations but I love to sew things for my mum, and with Mother’s Day coming up I was keen to get back behind my sewing machine. I wanted to make a quick, simple and flattering jersey top and 1616 seemed the perfect choice. It doesn’t appear to be for sale on online sewing stores but I just checked and a few people are selling it on eBay.

I used a jersey fabric called Painterly Pink Hibiscus, which I bought from Fab Works Mill Shop last year. It costs £5 per metre and I bought two metres but only used about 1.5. It has a lovely drape and I thought the bold floral print would be lovely for spring and summer. At the time of writing it was still available to buy here.

This pattern was an absolute joy to sew and only took me about three hours. My mum and I are a similar size so I made it to fit me, opting for the size 12. I think the 14 could also of worked well, creating a more draped look, but I am happy with the fit on me and my mum.

The instructions were super easy to follow and I made very few alterations. One thing I did do was use strips of a white stretch interfacing around the back neck edge and hem to provide stability and avoid the stretched rippled look that happens sometimes with stretch fabrics. I also left out the elastic around the waist as it fit perfectly without it. I may have needed if for the bigger size though.

My mum absolutely loves the top and I am keen to make a version for me too. She also said it was not the kind of thing she would usually go for and was surprised by how nice she felt in it. Below are a few pictures of her wearing it, including the obligatory shot with Willoughby the dog.

Pattern Pointers

This pattern works well with a more lightweight jersey, such as a viscose jersey with lots of drape. I combined the top section of Top A with the waist section of Top B as I didn’t want to include the zip. I’ve never sewn a zip into jersey fabric and it sounds a little daunting. Perhaps checkout some YouTube tutorials if you are braver than me.

Materials

I used about 1.5 metres of fabric (see above) plus about 30cm of 7mm elastic. You will need about one metre more if you add it to the waist. I also used some stretch interfacing. You can buy it on the Minerva Craft’s website here.

Alterations

I chose not to add the elastic to the waist seam.