A double gift: KS3928 and fabric

When I met up with Coco from Naughty Bobbin Patterns for lunch in Sausalito earlier this year she was wearing a glamorous and chic outfit which turned out to consist of her very own Solstice skirt and Kwik Sew 3928. I was on the very last day of my holiday and I was grubby and scruffy and slightly sick of my clothes, so I had a case of serious lust for her gorgeous outfit.

Anyway, she sent me the Kwik Sew pattern and I immediately wanted to make it. She warned me that it ran large so I went down a size and I think the size is perfect.

I used a lovely piece of fabric which was a gift Sandra who is on FB as Dilliander Sews.

Sandra had made an Itch-to-Stitch Hvar jacket from this fabric and I was so tempted to copy her but felt that I would get more wear from this top and I just got it out from what I had available.

I think I chose the windiest day we’ve had this winter for the photos and I was amazed by how much this fabric blew around. I think it may be a light weight home decorating fabric without a huge amount of drape but it managed to drape itself all round my body in the wind. Even the collar blew up at the back and of course I didn’t know until I downloaded the photos. Ah well!

Speaking of the collar, it’s quite deep and I felt a bit like a turtle with my scrawny neck poking out so instead of doubling it over, I trebled it and think it’s a perfect depth now – except that I need to stitch it down so it doesn’t blow around.

The top has a curved hem, which is longer at the back and the hem is nicely faced. The sleeves are quite short and Coco told me that she added 8 inches to them (20cms), so I did that too and they are a good length now. I can layer this top beautifully and I have two jumpers on under it, and I don’t think you can tell.

I absolutely love the colours in this top. They are probably a little more muted than they appear in these photos, and I’ve decided that these colours are really “me”. The welt pockets are beautifully drafted and are integrated into a long dart running from the hip, which is a clever bit of construction.

When I make this top again I think I will reduce the width of the sleeves and may cut down the depth of the collar as well. Apart from these little things, this is a lovely pattern made from lovely fabric and I have to thank my two internet friends Coco and Sandra for their generosity and kindness.