I have previously waxed very lyrical about the Paola pattern from Named Clothing and recently mentioned that I would be ‘hacking’ the design to make it suitable for Spring & Summer tops. The hack is now completed and in future will be called “The Paolina”.

For the first version, I used a 1 metre length remnant purchased at the Sewing for Pleasure show that I attended recently.

Possibly it was a mistake – nothing wrong with the pattern but the fabric was a nightmare to work with. Super stretchy and with a complicated print design, William Morris style, that took a while to get straight on-grain and avoid having ‘targets’ over the boobs!

I used my new method for the neck banding which seems to have worked well it’s just that my overlocker started to ‘play up’ and the twin needle stitching has also tightened up so that the hems are slightly more ridged than I would like.

However, I shall wear the top and look forward to the next iteration in the hope that all proceeds without a hitch.