Butterick 5353 - Jeweled Top is DONE!

I used Butterick 5353. I shortened the pattern to top length, eliminated the midriff, sewed the bottom with darts, adjusted the darts so they would line up with the princess seams of the bodice, and gave the bottom side shaping so it would be fitted:




Here's my top:




Some things about this top:

1) the bodice is quite long. I didn't shorten it because I planned to wear it with the belt. At the longer length, the belt fits right above the bottom of the bodice and it is perfect!

2) the bottom looks fitted in the pic on the pattern envelope, but it wasn't fitted enough. I had to give side shaping.

3) the bottom might look a tad too big on me and you're right, it is. It's a woven and I'm wearing this tucked out, so I sewed it with enough ease to accommodate whatever I might want to wear with this. If I choose to wear it with a belted pair of pants, it has enough ease so it will lay flat over the belt. No one's going to notice the ease, but I'm sure everyone would notice the outline of a belt protruding if it the top was too tight.

4) I like that the bodice armholes aren't too cut in--I could wear this to church and wouldn't have to worry about anything showing.

5) I used a quality white cotton jacquard that's been in my stash for around 5 years.

6) I sewed on the clear stones randomly, placing them as I sewed them on. Luckily, it turned out well.

7) Almost forgot, I attached the yoke to the bodice with the sewing machine, but I finished it with hand sewing. Have you ever tried finishing a yoke like this with the machine? It's quicker, neater, and easier to just do it by hand.

8) I self lined the yoke and interfaced it, lined the bodice with white lining, and underlined the bottom. With all of that structure, it feels like a designer piece, but even with all of that, this was a super easy top to sew!


BTW--Thanks for the comment Me! I'm really happy that I finally finished it!



Up next is the black and white skirt in my header--it's already cut out. After that, I'm sewing the black corduroy jacket in my header . . . I'm busy with lots of non sewing things, but hopefully, I'll cut the jacket out this week. I'm using a purple-lavender lining. Corduroy is usually used for boxy barn jackets, but I love using it for nicely shaped jackets with good design elements that give it a polished look. People don't expect to see nice jackets like this made out of corduroy and I like surprising them! :-)


Make this day a good one!
Em