Same Top Two Different Fabrics

I recently got to pick a pattern from the latest Fibremood magazine to celebrate its launch on Instagram a few days ago, and I went for a simple, casual top that would work with many of the bottoms in my wardrobe. I chose the Fibremood Sanna and ended up making two of them, so I thought it would be interesting in this post to show the same top in two different fabrics to highlight how they fit and drape on the body.

The Sanna top is loose-fitting with grown-on dolman sleeves. There’s a generous pleat detail near the wrist that creates a barrel look to the sleeve, and the back has a centre seam with peekaboo sections. The sizing goes from XS through to XXXL, and it includes a lot of wearing ease. It’s also quite a long top. I chose a size small even though I would normally sew up a medium in Fibremood. And as I prefer a shorter top, I took a few inches off the length.

Apart from sizing down and shortening my top, I made my usual shoulder seam adjustments and added a back shoulder dart to accommodate my forward shoulders.

So, my first fabric is a leopard print viscose/linen mix in black on an olive background from Lulou Designs. I initially only got one metre when I bought it last year, but I had to get an extra half metre, and thankfully, it was still in stock. Because of this, I had to put in a couple of extra seams to get my pattern pieces from the fabric. There’s one seam down the front and another halfway down the back sleeve, and although I’ve topstitched either side of those extra seams, they’re hidden by the print.

Now, call me old-fashioned, but I’m not really one for gaps down the back seam of my clothes like the ones on the Sanna. I often wear a camisole underlayer underneath my tops (which I don’t want to be seen), and I also wanted the option to layer this one over a roll neck top, too. I pondered on my options and had a look through the various boxes and tins in my sewing room for ideas. I found a short black zip and a length of leftover grosgrain ribbon…perfect! I placed the ribbon below the zip, and together they create a nice bit of back interest.

I’m very happy with how this version turned out, and I like that it’s just a nice, easy, throw-on casual blouse. Very comfy too 🙂

In this fabric that’s quite soft and drapey, notice how it falls over my body and collapses back in without feeling or looking bulky. There’s still enough structure to show those nice sleeves off, though. So let’s see how it looks and fits in a crisper cotton lawn….

My next top is made from a cotton lawn fern print called Hoffman Bali in the colourway Brownie, which I bought from Croftmill. This fabric is crisper than I’m used to wearing in recent years, so it’s a bit of a style departure for me, really.

Once again, I put a front seam into the top because this fabric was only 112cm wide and doman sleeve patterns are fabric guzzlers. I cut the same size as my first top and made up 90% of it, at which point I tried it on…It felt totally different to the viscose/linen one. First of all, it felt bigger. I also noticed that it lay weirdly around my shoulders and upper back. Because the cotton fabric didn’t drape, it stood away from my body in several places, and I really wasn’t keen on that effect.

I ended up taking the top in at the sides, reducing the armhole depth at the same time. I also took a little in down the centre back seam, and lastly I increased the shoulder dart intake and its length. After doing those adjustments, the top feels so much better. I now feel like I’m wearing it instead of it wearing me 🙂

Overall, I think my two Sannas are a success. They’ll be useful Spring tops for everyday wear. I would say that if you want to try the Sanna top for yourself, be very mindful of the amount of wearing ease, and if you’re not into oversized garments, go a size or two down from your usual size.

Between the two fabrics, I may prefer the way the leopard print one hangs and feels on my body. Perhaps I’ll get used to the cotton lawn as I wear it though 🙂 . It may be that slightly more fitted silhouettes, that have more of a body-skimming shape, will suit this type of fabric for me. I have another cotton print in my stash, so I’ll ponder on what style I could sew it up in and in the meantime, wear this one more to assess it. I’m definitely happy with my brown print top, and the more I wear it, the more I bet the fabric will soften up.

Well, I think this turned out to be a really fun experiment that I’ve learned from. I’ve come away knowing my style tastes a bit better, which will no doubt help me with future fabric and pattern purchases. We’re always learning with sewing, aren’t we?

Thanks for stopping by. See you soon!