Parisian Top

The Just Add Jeans collection from Pattern Anthology may just be my favorite collection of women's top patterns. This is the Parisian Top and the second one I've sewn from the collection. I liked it so much that I had to make two! The Parisian was designed by Andrea, of Go To Patterns, featuring a peter pan collar and 3/4 length sleeves. For my first top, I decided to use a cotton interlock fabric from my grandma and contrasting black hembands.

The great thing about this top is that you can use a woven fabric for the collar leaving you with endless possibilities! There are so many great prints that would look great with a solid knit fabric. The credit for the collar goes to my mom; I never would've thought to put these fabrics together, but I love how the grey polka dots look with the pink floral! The polka dot fabric was a fat quarter, which was only enough to cut one collar piece. I desperately wanted to use it after my mom found it and so I used a solid color for the underside of the collar - you can't see it anyway!

This was my first time sewing a peter pan collar and I wasn't sure how it would look on me, but I like it a lot! I did have some problems sewing it onto the top, but I think it is completely my fault. The directions are very clear and others did not have any trouble with it. Both times I made this, the collar was too small by a couple inches and did not meet in the center. To fix this, I gathered the shoulders a bit more on the pink top and for the turquoise one I used this tip from Sew Caroline and made a pleat in the center.

The hemband is nice for the fact that there is no hemming involved. However, I did not like the hemband on the pink top for some reason. The top feels too short. It could just be the fabric too - the black is a really stretchy cotton jersey - but I decided to leave the hemband off of my second one and lengthen it by a few inches instead.

I added 6 inches to the length of the top before cutting it out. Three inches made up for not using the hemband and I sewed a one inch hem, so it ended up being just about two inches longer than my first Parisian. I like it much better this way and I think the length is perfect.

I used a turquoise cotton jersey fabric that I received for Christmas. It is from Girl Charlee and although I usually love the knit fabric they carry, this one was frustrating to sew with because it was very thin and kept curling. Argh! I just had to sew slowly and pin a lot. I love the end result though! Andrea actually recommends using a fabric that is 8-12 oz in weight. That would explain why I had so much trouble with this knit - it is 7.5 oz. So, while it is possible make this fabric from a lighter weight, thinner fabric, next time I would definitely listen to the expert!

I love the collar on this top!! It's gives a fun pop to an otherwise solid top. It's also my favorite color. :) The collar fabric was sent to me by Alisa all the way from Taiwan when I participated in a fabric swap last year. I am so glad I finally found the perfect use for it! 

It is hard to see in this picture, but I used a metallic turquoise thread for topstitiching the hem. I received it from Lisa  who sent it to me for the color swap I recently participated in. It arrived just in time as I was finishing the top and is a perfect match. 

I have already worn both of these tops more than once! The collar held up well and it is perfect for wearing many places. I've worn it to school, church and even babysitting! I've been making quite a few tops lately - it feels so great to have every day items to wear. 

Have you sewn anything for yourself lately? 

~Elizabeth