My New Favourite top

Continuing with the stash-busting theme, the next left-over material I set my mind to was this lovely tweed, from one of my much loved BHL Charlotte skirts, see here.

Leafing through my pattern collection I came across Burda Style 7175, which is a vintage-style ‘dress and accessories’ pattern. And yes, I’m loving the hat and stole too, but maybe next time 😉 Unlike the vast majority of the others in this range, this was labelled as ‘easy’ and required ‘lightweight wools or tweeds’, perfect!

I’d heard that Burda patterns aren’t always that detailed, but maybe that’s the ones in their magazine, as this really was pretty straightforward. The bodice was made out of four pieces, rather than the usual two. I was tempted to use a contrasting fabric for the side panels, but erred on the safe side by sticking to just one. It came together really smoothly and my invisible zip went in no problem, a relief after the last one!

I did use a contrast material for my facings though (navy boucle from my original Charlotte), as I thought the tweed might prove a little scratchy around the neckline. This worked well. I did vaguely consider constructing a lining (not included in the pattern), but it’s more boxy than close-fitting, so I think it should be ok without.

The sleeves were a little fiddly, but no doubt because I decided to ignore the instructions to sew them by hand, preferring to do them on the machine. It was a bit narrow, but it worked out fine.

The only part of the instructions I couldn’t quite make out was how to finish the slits on the front. In the end I just improvised, and I think they look just fine 🙂 I even used up my two remaining buttons from my Megan dress, so this top was entirely constructed from left-overs. The cover illustration above uses much bigger ones, but maybe this would result in a slightly too vintage-y look? Then again, mine do look a little lost in these photos…

I’ve never really had a top pattern that I’ve loved before, unlike the many skirt patterns I’ve fallen for: the Ginger, the Delphine and the Charlotte. But now I have one! I really love the fit of this and the styling details. I’m already thinking of what other fabric I have that might be appropriate to run another one up in. It looks great with jeans and is really comfy, but I’m also looking forward to trying it with the matching Charlotte skirt (still in Winter storage) for work. Because of the slits it will definitely require a high-waisted bottom half to protect my middle section from exposure, really not a great look after two children!

I really do love this! Do you have a favourite top pattern?

Thanks for reading,

Teresa x.

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