Made By A Fabricista: Sewing Elevated Basics

Hi fellow sewists! It’s Andrea from @happy.things.here. Today I am sharing the details on two recent pieces that were sorely needed in my wardrobe – versatile solid color tops that can be worn with a variety of bottoms and dressed up or down. I am SUCH a fan of fun prints and whimsical patterns – my self-sewn wardrobe is full of stripes, florals, and geometric prints. So every now and again, I have to take a step back and push myself to make more flexible and basic pieces…and one way I get myself going is to look for options with those little details that really elevate a piece. Of the two tops I’m sharing today, I sewed the first per the pattern as the design already included a fun detail I really liked. For the second piece, I did a little hack to add a fun feature.

For my first piece, I sewed up the Moira shirt from Wardrobe by Me; it’s designed for wovens and has these amazing bountiful gathers along the neckline. Look at these gorgeous gathers!

There is also an option for a gathered three-quarter length sleeve which is the one I selected. The pattern features raglan sleeves, which is a little unusual for a woven top so it’s a fun construction process too. You assemble the sleeves and bodice, and then gather the neckline before finishing it with a bias binding. This was my fourth time making this pattern (so you can tell I really love it!) and so I was able to apply two learnings from my previous versions. First, the designer includes specific markings on the binding piece, sleeves and bodice pieces which are soooooo important for getting the gathering right and attaching the binding – so mark those really clearly on all pieces and it will make the assembly process much smoother for you. And second, lots of pins are your friend! The gathering can feel like a bit of a long haul with this top but if you mark all those notches and use lots of pins, it should go smoothly for you!

I used a luscious purple linen and I feel like it was the perfect fabric for it – it has both structure and drape, and I love how it turned out!

For my second elevated basic, I chose the Cadence top from Love Notions Patterns. This is another tried and true pattern for me, and I’ve sewn several up over the last three years. It’s a basic blouse with darts, facings, and multiple sleeve options. I selected a sand-washed cotton which happened to be a Julie’s pick a few months ago and the fabric was a steal at $4.99 a yard. Definitely keep an eye on those specials! Since the fabric was fairly translucent, I opted to do a bias bound neckline instead of using the facing piece since I thought it would show through. In hindsight, I probably should have done a fully lined bodice, but I paired it with a white tank top underneath which also works. I opted again for the three quarter inch sleeve option, but I did a little hack where I added a gathered ruffle to the sleeves. To do this, I cut a piece of fabric twice the width of the sleeve opening and one inch longer than my final length to account for seam allowances.

I then sewed a few rows of gathering stitches, gathered the piece to match the sleeve width, and then sewed two rows of permanent stitches to lock the gathers in place before I attached the gathered/ruffled part to the sleeve.

I then assembled the sleeves and finished the top per the instructions.

Check out these sleeves!

I don’t have anything like this in my wardrobe and haven’t sewn a sleeve like this before, so I had fun doing the hack…and it’s still a basic piece that will go with everything from jeans to solid pants to a printed skirt. It was worth all that gathering fuss!

I paired my new top with pants I sewed up a few months ago in a blue ponte knit from Fabric Mart using the Apostrophe Patterns My Fit Joggers pattern. Check out my previous post for more on this pattern.

How about you? Do you gravitate towards prints or solids? I had so much fun sewing up these tops, so I really need to remind myself to go for those solid-colored fabrics now and then, and to slow down to sew the basics.

Happy Sewing!

Andrea | @happy.things.here