60’s Feel In Modern Times- Sorbetto Top

I’ve heard so much about this top from Colette Patterns that I had to give it a try. I’m talking about the Sorbetto top which is a loose fitting woven top. It can be made with a center front pleat or without. I made this in a couple of different fabrics and I want to share those results with you now.

The first one I made I considered a wearable muslin (just in case things didn’t work out-LOL).

This is made using a lightweight cotton. It’s actually the perfect type of fabric for this I think. It sews easily and still maintains the style of the top.

The description says the top is loose and swingy, which it is. I actually took in the sides a bit (I made an actual muslin first for fit). I also had to adjust the neck because it was too big.

I then tried this in a gauze. I haven’t used this material before, so I was unfamiliar with how to keep it from stretching out. I got a good tip on IG: use some interfacing on the seam lines to keep those from distorting. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time since I had finished the top. By the way, this only takes about 45 minutes to an hour to put together! There are only two pattern pieces.

This is what happens when you take your camera outside on a very humid day. The lens fogs up. But you get a nice haze effect…

Anyway, I had to make more adjustments on this one due to the nature of the fabric. The side seams were taken in again and the arm was raised. I also had to raise the shoulder on this one.

My personal favorite is the pink made from the lightweight cotton. It was much easier to sew and I think keeps the integrity of the design better without as much work. But they are certainly both wearable. If you are interested in making this top, I highly recommend making an actual muslin as I did. I had to make the neck narrower to eliminate a gap, which I did for both of these.

I’m also working on some Fall sewing plans which I hope to share with you soon. Fall is my favorite time of year so I’m trying to keep my plan reasonable but productive 🙂

Workout Wear With Simplicity 8561

I have been trying to get around to making another pair of workout leggings for myself for the longest time and I finally got around to it. This time, I used Simplicity 8561 which is four variations on leggings only.

The print material is one of those fabrics made exclusively for JoAnn’s stores. It’s a four-way stretch athletic knit polyester. The solid black is a polyester knit I found in my fabric stash. This pattern does have a variation with pockets as well, but this is View B (capri length with contrast panels).

In order to get a good fit, I did make a few alterations to the pattern:

made a 1″ wedge adjustment in the back (extended the center back seam)
lengthened the center front crotch seam by 1/4″
raised the front at the top (waist) by 1″ , and
raised the crotch seam by 1/2″

I serged almost all the seams for this, but you could certainly make these using a zigzag stitch if you didn’t have a serger. the top I’m wear is made from an athletic mesh fabric I bought on fabric.com. It’s the Alannah T I made a while back (modified Style Arc pattern).

When I posted a picture of the pattern that I would be using for this, I got some responses that people love this pattern. I can understand why. It only took a couple of hours to put together and you get a great fit! Well worth giving this one a try. The next time, I will make the version with pockets. I do miss not having them but I really like the look and fit of these.

*This blog post contains affiliate links. I am a fabric.com affiliate.

Another M6803 Cardigan

Actually, it’s two cardigans. This could be filed under “pre-Fall” sewing or “I’m always cold” sewing. I made this pattern again because it has become one of my favorite patterns. This is the type of sweater that I would tend to buy so finding a pattern to make my own was SO exciting for me.

M6803

I used a very light-weight knit for each one of these that I made this time.

M6803

The green is a bamboo knit and the blue is stretch jersey. Because the material is so light, I did add an interfacing strip on the green cardigan to the top of the pocket piece to give it a little more stability. Honestly, when I finished both sweaters, I really couldn’t tell that adding that made any difference. It did make the pocket a bit easier to fold and sew. I used a very light knit interfacing for this. The only design change was that I didn’t add any closure to the front. I was thinking about using snaps on the blue, but decided to leave it as is.

I had previously made this pattern using a quilted cotton knit (here) which is perfect for cooler days in the Fall and Winter. This is light enough to wear in the summer indoors when the AC is cranked up too high when I’m out of the house. They only took a couple of hours each to make and can be made on the serger almost exclusively. Both of these fabrics were purchased from fabric dot com (one of my favorite online sources for material).

Overall, this is a very versatile pattern that really could get 3 season use (Spring, Summer, Fall). I think it might be out of print now, but if you can get one, I certainly recommend it. This pattern can be made for men or women by the way. Sometimes you need/want to make something that’s quick and functional . This pattern certainly fills the bill on both counts. And, this would probably be really cute in a stretch knit lace as well!

*Affiliate link alert: While I don’t see the same fabric I used, you can check here or here for similar options.