I don’t know that I’ve ever tried to fully recreate a ready to wear item in my sewing room before, but this top is entirely the result of a very inspiring morning of window shopping on our downtown square. In a quest for a little fresh air and delicious coffee, my little guy and I found ourselves strolling along the square one morning in early April this year. Most of the shops were closed, but we were happy to be out of the house and I took my time rolling the stroller past each and every store front, checking out the window displays.
I often look to our downtown boutiques and a few of my favorite stores online for a little inspiration, but I typically use this in a vague way – thinking up ways to pair colors and silhouettes, gaining some ideas on how to feature the bold patterns I love. This black and white top caught my eye, though, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. If the store had been open, I may even have been tempted to run inside and buy it, an unusual move for me – I prefer to sew my clothing these days! However, the door was shut tight so I snapped a quick photo to add to my inspiration album.
I recognized right away that the Fibre Mood Rosalie Dress had a lot of the same features I liked about this top, and I ultimately ended up shortening that pattern and adding on a Frankensleeve I mashed together from the Named Patterns Solar Sweater and the Chalk + Notch Orchid Dress to come up with this top. This is significantly more pattern hacking / mashing than I typically do, but I really enjoyed thinking it all out and I’m so happy with the outcome. It actually had a pretty good time trying to recreate something so nearly!
While I certainly recognize that I could’ve come up with this pattern mash and sewn it up in any fabric that caught my eye, I decided that I really did want to stay true to the original that had caught my eye and choose something black and white. Surprise, surprise, I didn’t have anything by that description in my fabric collection, so this idea sat in the back of my mind for a number of months. However, after awhile, the Minerva Brand Ambassador team reached out to show off some of the Minerva Exclusive fabrics that would be released towards the end of the summer. As I scrolled through the images, this one caught my eye right away! I quickly responded and requested to be one of the first to sew this up!
This fabric is so much fun. If you don’t look too closely, I think it looks like a simple black and white floral. However, on closer inspection, the tropical plants are in fact hiding some sneaky tigers! They might be easy to miss, but how fun is the tiger that decided to set itself up just across the V of the neckline? It’s perfect.
I’m so happy with this top – it turned out to be the perfect length, the perfect amount of swinginess, the perfect semi-neutral addition to my closet. It is still hot as heck out here in Texas, but pairing this with shorts allows me to enjoy it immediately in these hot and humid days. However, the long sleeves will take it perfectly into cooler temps, and I look forward to pairing it with a skinny, ankle length pant and some cute little flats.
I know y’all might be sick of me singing the praises of these Minerva Exclusive viscose prints, but hang on tight – I’m not done yet. I have at least 3 more to come, and so many more that I’d love to work with still! So far, I’ve loved everything that I’ve sewn so I just don’t see any reason to stop just yet!
Dress: handmade by me
Pattern: Fibre Mood – Rosalie Dress (hacked!)
Fabric: Minerva Exclusive – Tiger Kingdom Viscose Challis
Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Prym Sewing Machine Needles
Gutermann Sew All Polyester Sewing Thread
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this pattern! The fabric used for this post was kindly gifted to me by Minerva as part of their Brand Ambassador program, with my agreement to post about my experience working with the fabric on their website. The pattern was purchased by me! All words and opinions expressed throughout this post are my own, as always. Links provided throughout this post may be affiliate links – if you choose to purchase any products through these links, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This simply helps me justify the costs of my sewing habit and the time it takes to share it with you!! Happy Sewing!
- XX Elizabeth
