Anthropologie Inspired Top

Pattern: My own
Fabric: Cotton from Joann's Miss Lucy line and some solid Red cotton for the band
Techniques: Flat-fell seam, invisible zipper, spaghetti straps, and most importantly techniques on general garment construction.
Guides: Singer's Complete Photo Guide to Sewing (love this book so far)

Anyways, I was going for something a little more Anthropologie and less Forever 21, but hey, I'll take what I can get. As you can tell, I didn't use the two Simplicity patterns at all. This change of plans has less to do with the pattern and more to do with the fact that I think I chose the wrong type of fabric for the pattern. Trust me, bat wings (aka kimono sleeves), out of 100% cotton looks dreadful.

Instead, I just drafted the pattern for the top myself and used the bottom from one of the Simplicity patterns. This was my first ever sewing garment, _ever_, and I love it. I learned a whole lot and probably made some decisions that don't necessarily make for the best garment but taught me a whole lot about my new machine and armed me with more sewing techniques. There's a bit of gathering going on below the band, an invisible zipper (I used a tutorial from the sewing divas), spaghetti straps, darts in the bodice, flat fell seam on the side, and a blind hem for the bottom.

Faves: I love how the darts around the top don't peak out into annoying triangles. I think my absolute favorite thing about this garment though is the inside. I spent a lot of time (and fabric) making sure that the inside was as clean as the outside. I also like how the neckline turned out.

Dislikes: Some of the lines on the side don't align, which was partly due to my bad pattern drafting. It's also just a tad bit tight on my rib cage. I also used a bad zipper color as it doesn't match the fabric at all.

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This top makes me love sewing. I wore it all day and made my guy tell me over and over again how cute it was, even though he really has no idea about the cuteness factor! HA! Sewing is going to make me vain! I think I just really liked wearing something that I made.