Poor Polly!

I didn’t have an awful amount of spare time this week, so I fancied a really simple, quick project. I also wanted to use up some ‘leftover’ fabric, namely these two linens from my Navy Ginger skirt and my Cerise Delphine skirt. However I’m really not convinced by the finished result. I like the design, but it really doesn’t do much for me 😦

In case you didn’t recognise the pattern it’s BHL’s Polly top again. To be honest I haven’t had a whole lot of wear from my original Polly top, so I should have known, but at least the cotton fabric on my original, gingham Polly was more skimming than bulky, as is the end result of using all this linen…

On the plus side I managed to sew the front panel in without any lumps or bumps. I also really love the contrasting colours and the lace detail worked pretty well too. But overall this design isn’t really doing anything for me, mostly because it just doesn’t look right tucked in, which leaves me without a waist. And boy, do I need a waist to pull me in! If I’d have tried this on in a shop I would have put in straight back on the rail. Usually I’d think about adjusting somehow, but if I take in the sides, I probably wouldn’t be able to get it on over my head. Maybe I need to donate it to a taller, slimmer friend who could wear it untucked? What do you do with your makes that don’t quite work out for you?

I’m actually going to be pretty ruthless and get rid of this pattern from my collection. It was a free PDF one which makes the process easier, but I don’t want to accidentally get this out again in six months, forgetting it totally doesn’t suit my figure and waste my time again. Poor Polly, but sometime’s a girl’s gotta…

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The Polly Goes Gingham

This is my second attempt at ByHand London’s Polly Top. The first one needs a little reworking before I venture out in public in it. After completing this second version, I think it was my previous fabric choice that didn’t really work out the first time around. I’m slowly getting better at matching fabrics to patterns…

This was a free downloadable pattern (hurrah!), which is a bit like a giant jigsaw putting it together, but a bit tricky to keep to your selected size once you start cutting it out, especially the odd piece which you only need a tiny corner from. I originally cut a size 10, which was perfect for the Charlotte skirt, but far too loose in this design, so this time I cut an 8. Truthfully, I think I’m probably somewhere between the two, I can just about get this over my head.

I’ve tried making my own bias binding in the past and failed miserably, so this time I simply bought some ready made and it went in without a hitch. The contrasting fabrics are a bit out of my comfort zone but I actually think I’ll get lots of wear out of this item 🙂

Now I need to go back to my first version and attempt to rework it…