My Adele Top

It’s kind of a stretch but I’ve rediscovered Adele’s 19, with Cold Shoulder as one of the songs I like to move my head to in the subway. I was determined to resist the cold shoulder trend at the beginning of the summer. This article echoed pretty accurately my state of mind. That was before sewandstyle posted the adorable Alice and Olivia Alyssa, made out of poplin, which retails for 240USD. Upon googling, I stumbled upon her sister, Layla, made of silk, which retails for 295USD and also had some elements I liked. I knew I needed to get my hand on McCall’s 7573, which had already been popping up all over the internet. After a short cutting session on a weekend night and a single sewing session on a weeknight (yes, that’s how fast a sew this is), this happened:

The fabric is from stash, a lightweight stretch cotton bought at the fabric market in Hamburg years ago. Because it’s somewhat see-through and I didn’t want a pattern surimposition, I underlined the ruffle with a white voile fabric.

All seams are finished with bias (armholes), French seams (side seams) or rolled hem.

I realised (too late, of course) that because the design I was aiming at raises the center front, if that pattern piece was left as is, the center front would bunch and the front hem wouldn’t be straight. So I had to draft an additional pattern piece that I attached to the center front. The piecing is hidden under the circular ruffle, at that point I gave myself a tap on the shoulder for having thought of underlining the ruffle.

When the piecing was done, I tried the top back on. It fit well and looked a lot like my inspiration garment, but left me feeling somewhat naked, especially in the back. Although my bra was covered, I was not sure it would remain so when moving around and didn’t want to deal with the insecurity. So I added a band center back inside the top, to be pulled in between my bra and skin when wearing, in order to secure the top there. And that’s when I also got the idea of the alternative back closure seen in the pictures, which is even more secure.

So meet Adele, Alyssa and Layla’s adopted cousin.