Sewing A ‘Block’ : Sew Over It Whitley Top

Hi sewing buddies!

I’ve long wanted a basic top pattern, an everyday easy-wear woven top that could act as a ‘block’ to be customised at will. I’ve tried a few over the years – some of which ended up taking so much redrafting, I basically lost the will to finish. However, roll of drums please, I think I may have found it, without much effort, in Sew Over It’s ‘Whitley Top’!

Fabric : Lady McElroy Viscose in Heron Habitats

It’s an easy and quick sew and helpfully comes with four different front pieces depending on your cup size (A-B, C-D, E-F and G-H), two neck finishes (round or ‘V’) and three sleeve lengths. It’s available as a stand-alone pattern or as part of an online course. It’d make a great beginner sew!

It fit pretty much how I wanted it to without any major tweaking on my part – my only alteration being to lower the darts – considerably! 1.5″ to be exact. I like the drafting of it; there’s shaping to the waist and it hangs nicely through the back – even without doing a swayback adjustment! (I’ve since made a more fitted version of this pattern in a non-stretch woven, with extra fit adjustments, see HERE).

Centre Back Seam Pattern Matching Happiness! Fabric : Lady McElroy viscose ‘Hunters Quest’

As I say, it has two neck finishes – a round and a V. I pattern matched the centre back seam on all three of my versions. I belatedly realised (after sewing the first one) that if you’re doing the V neck version, there’s really not much need for the neck opening at the back; you could get rid of the centre-back seam altogether. However, I quite like the neck opening as a design feature and so kept it with all three. (If you want to see how I pattern match busy prints like this, I’ve a step-by-step tutorial on it HERE).

As I want the Whitley to act as a basic pattern on which to launch a 1000 tops, I’ve donned my ‘Scrutiny Glasses’ every time I’ve worn them to see where I could improve the fit for my shape. On reflection, I will faff with it, perhaps forward rotating the shoulders and sleeve cap a little, for example. I’ve also spent a bit of time thinking about the bust darts. I’ve lowered them but I also think I could reshape them a little to better fit my chest…

Fabric : Lady McElroy viscose in Capri Palms

I’m a DD cup at the moment, and sewed the E-F front (DD = E in my book). As I say, I lowered the darts 1.5″ but having worn these three tops on more or less constant rotation recently, I think I may sew the darts in differently for the fourth; they’re a little long at the moment, going slightly past the fullest part of my bust. Also taking into account the particular shape of my bust (round-sided), as well as tapering to a slight curve near the apex, I think altering the shape of the dart legs to be more concave might help, like this…

Image from Closet Case Patterns – they have a really useful post on darts HERE

I’m just musing aloud really; what’s your preferred method?

I purchased this fabric HERE

Bust dart musings aside, I can see myself making so many of these. During the hot weather we’ve been having recently (and where did it go?!) they’ve been absolutely ideal. It’s a perfect pairing of fabric to pattern really. The fabrics were a dream to work with and handle beautifully; they barely crease and wash and press fabulously – they’ve even got a bit of stretch to them which makes them really comfortable in the wear. So even though I’m not usually much of a ‘print’ wearer; I’m rather loving these! (kudos to the Husband who chose them all!)

I purchased this fabric HERE

Oh and can I just say, the photos in this post were all taken in about 5 seconds flat … it’s pretty hard keeping a straight face when your daughter is heckling from the sidelines and shoving herself in the frame! I managed to get just a handful of pictures of the tops and about a billion of us both falling over each other laughing – they’re some of the best pics I’ve taken of us together and I love ’em all! I shared this one on my Instagram feed…

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sew Sarah Smith (@sewsarahsmith)

And now I’ve sewn these tops I really need more summer weight trousers to go with them – elasticated to cope with my Lockdown Waistline. After much pondering – which is all I seem to do these days – I finally plumped for New Look 6517 as they’re almost identical to the RTW ones I’m wearing in this post. I reckon I need at least three pairs. If you need me, you’ll know where I’ll be, haha!

Happy sewing, take care

Disclaimer : Not a sponsored post – all items mentioned were purchased. Post does contain affiliate links; if you choose to make a purchase via one of these links you will be supporting this blog at no additional cost to yourself, for which I thank you! Sarah x

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