I have gotten in a ridiculous habit on Saturday morning of “not having anything to wear that day” and sewing up something in the morning. This Saturday was no exception. I purchased the Rosa Top by See Kate Sew earlier this week and thought it was a perfect fit for this Saturday morning.
I am loving the peplum trends that are all over the new sewing patterns and RTW clothes this season. Every time I see one, I can’t seem to stop myself from making the pattern immediately – the Rosa Top was no exception. Couple the fact it was a knit pattern, it went to the top of the sewing queue for the weekend.
I used up the remainder of the ponte knit from LA Finch Fabrics that I made last week’s Coffee Shop Dress out of (ironically the same thing….didn’t have anything to wear to the family birthday party we went to last Saturday). I have a bad habit of buying fabric without a project in mind and end to default to a standard 3 yards each purchase. Good news was, in 3 yards of this ponte knit, I was able to get a dress and a top and still have some excess!
The Rosa Top is a flowy knit top with dolman sleeves with 3 sleeve options – short, elbow and long sleeves. As I was playing a little bit of fabric chicken, I was open to making any sleeve length, but ended up having enough fabric to make the long sleeve version. I think next time, I might make the short sleeve version (which will use up a lot less fabric!)
On the instructions, it did mention that if you didn’t want it to be too baggy, you might want to consider sizing down at least one size. I decided to sew up the XS which was almost 2 sizes smaller than I would have probably sewn if I hadn’t thought about it. My measurements are 34 high bust/36 full bust, 29 waist, 39 hips and the XS measurements were bust 32-33, waist 25-26 and hip 35-36. So depending on how baggy you would like the top, just something to keep in mind. I really liked that the instructions included that tip!
I was able to sew the entire top of my serger with the exception of the gathering of the peplum and the neckline. I think this might have been my first knit garment that didn’t have a neckband piece, this just includes a folded over neckline hem.
I think I might sew up a few more to wear over my workout clothes to the gym – I was still in workout clothes when I was making it and it looked really cute with a pair of leggings and a workout tank top peeking through the top.
If you’ve been around here before, you know I shy away from hemming knits and this was no exception – I didn’t hem the sleeves or the peplum. I might add a rolled hem on the serger to the peplum on another version, but I like it unhemmed.
As I sewed this up first thing in the morning on April 1st, it’s the first garment of April! Also, remember when I said that I wear my Ginger Jeans every single weekend – this was no exception. These Gingers are my most worn pair and my favorite!
Rosa Top Summary:
Size Made: Extra Small
View: Long Sleeve Version
Fabric Used: Annabelle Romance Navy Liverpool Print from LA Finch Fabrics
Notions Used: None
Ease of Construction: Super easy construction and a quick sew
Fit: Because I sized down, I like the fit. Although I might take in the sleeves in the next one if I make another long sleeve version.
Repeatable? More will be on the way!
Have you ever sewed something up at the last minute because you “didn’t have anything else to wear?” I guess it’s better than buying something….I used to do that….
I was just in my local fabric shop at our monthly gathering and found myself fingering some ponte! They didn’t have any as pretty as this one though! Your top is beautiful – great tip about the sizing which is always a challenge when working with a new pattern company.
Thank you!! I love ponte knits – they’re my favorite!
This looks so fantastic! Hemming knits is sooooooo 2015.