Lace Trimmed Top Butterick B4685

This is probably one of the fastest projects I’ve made. No sitting in the corner making me feel guilty for weeks! Woo!

I had a single metre of a plain cream cotton lawn in my stash, and dug out some lace and organza ribbon from my bag o’notions. I like the way the slight grubbiness makes it look a bit vintage; but it really isn’t. The ribbon came from Robert Sayles in Cambridge and the lace from Birmingham Indoor Market. Though… the ribbon must be 10 years old by now. Honorary vintage?

Only now I notice the doorknob creeping in the side of the shot there. Cheeky thing.

This is a Butterick B4685, view D. I’ve had to omit the empire-line elastic due to lack of suitable binding. I’ll decide if I want to put that elastic in once I’ve worn it a few times.

The pattern’s nice and straightforward, with some good instructions. There were a couple of problems with it, however. The pattern calls for one-sided scalloped lace for the central trim, but the picture shows double-sided, and I think one-sided lace would look a bit odd as a central motif. Not a big issue, but could cause confusion. Also, the particular view I picked requires bias tape/binding, which isn’t mentioned in the notions list on the envelope. You’ll need a couple of metres of 1-1.5cm binding to do the waist elastic.

I’m quite excited about this top because it addresses a major gap in my wardrobe. I’ve made skirts, jumpers and cardigans, but never the shirts and tops you need to wear with them. I was a bit worried it’d look obviously hand-made, but it actually looks pretty good. Aside from the wonky hemline, that is… I’m not very good at curves yet. :D

Here’s a shot of the back…

I’d show a side shot too, but there’s so much fabric gathered up by that neckline that it sort of… inflates. Plenty of room for expansion after a big dinner, sure, but yikes. Not a very good look. Hopefully it’ll calm down after a bit of wear, and a couple of washes, but if I make any other views of the pattern, I might stick in a couple of darts to get rid of some of that excess fabric.

And there you have it, my first Me Made May inspired FO. Anyone else resorted to a cheeky new project to extend their hand-made wardrobe? Or am I the only one crazy enough to bother? :D