I am currently fixated with the idea of making Breton-style tops. At the end of last year I made two tops for my sister and me. For those I used the Fraser sweatshirt pattern view A by Sewaholic and found it to be a good fit. Sometime ago I also made up view B and having reviewed the line drawings think that this view may be the ideal building block for some more Breton-style tops.

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I have plenty of Ponte Roma fabrics to use for these projects but before I cut into those I wanted to make the view B Fraser again just to check the sizing and fit. I decided to make a wearable toile using the 1 metre of Burgundy stripe Ponte that I bought from an eBay seller back in November for the grand sum of £9.99.

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There were just a few minor alterations to the pattern; I cut a generous size 20 and used only ¼ inch side seams. I lowered the front neckline 1¼ inches at centre front then graded back to the original neckline. I added 3 inches to the length of the front and back body patterns. I would add the sleeve cuffs but ignore the hem bands on this version.

Pattern matching the stripes was fairly easy by pinning the centre point of every other Ivory stripe and checking frequently that the fabric had not shifted. The stretch of the fabric was best across the width and so I cut the neckband parallel to the stripes but for the sleeve cuffs the stretch was not an issue and therefore I cut with the stripes vertical to add a little interest to this otherwise very simple style.

Construction was plain sailing. Due to the care taken when cutting out, the pattern matching of the stripes went like a dream! For the neckband I cut a length 2 inches wide. I measured the neckline in centimetres, multiplied by 85% then added seam allowance. This also worked well and I am delighted with the placing of the Ivory stripe dead centre of the neckband. The majority of the top was constructed on the overlocker but I did use the sewing machine to baste the neckband and sleeve cuffs in place first. The hem was turned up to a level so that I could hem with White thread in the twin needles and that stitching would then disappear into an Ivory stripe. This also meant that the bottom edge of the hem was on the Burgundy shade, a really neat finish.

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Now that I have checked out the pattern I can go ahead with drafting a new one for a Breton top with some colour blocking. Watch this space.

Project #9 completed 1^st February 2021