Lotus Blouse by Love Notions Review

Who loves a twist top? They are so fun and give such flattering lines. It’s like when you knot a button front top but without all the bulk.

I let my pup make an appearance. Mainly because she was going over to the neighbor’s yard but also I just saw a good opportunity to show her off. Her name is Ariel, a 10 pound chihuahua with a little doxen in her.

This is my 2nd Love Notions pattern. The first was the serenity sweater, which has similar twist-like lines but it’s an open front. I have found that Love Notions has really easy to make and wear patterns. They mix comfort and style.

Without the inset back piece, this pattern has 2 pattern pieces. It was ridiculously easy and fast to make. Even understanding the twist didn’t take long. Now if your front/back of fabric are not the same, it will take a little longer.

I used a rayon jersey knit from fabric.com in my go-to color olive green. I picked a solid so I wouldn’t have to worry about it being printed on both sides of the fabric. There may be some slight differences in the front/back but not enough for me to worry about it.

i finished all the hems with a twin needle. I think it gives it a nice professional look.

Pattern: Lotus blouse by Love Notions

Size: small graded to medium waist

Fabric: Rayon Jersey

Alterations: none

Overall: It’s a really nice piece to add to my wardrobe. I snagged the pattern on sale for $5 and it was so worth it.

Short Sleeved Givre Top

My goal of adding more shirts to my wardrobe continues with the Givre t-shirt from deer & doe. This was such a cost-efficient make as I already had the pattern and fabric. I’ve made the Givre once before –> Givre Top Review: SewMyStyle2019

I sewed up the same size as before: 36. I took out the additional length I added last time (last time I wanted it to cover my butt for leggings), so this is the original length of the pattern. To make it short sleeved, I simply didn’t use the contrast sleeve. I considered adding length to the sleeve, as I wasn’t sure how short it would be after hemming, but I’m glad I didn’t.

These fabrics may look a bit familiar to you. The animal print was used in this dress –> Animal Print M7429 Minerva Crafts and the black is leftover from my first givre. I did not have very much left of that animal print jersey. I wasn’t sure it would be enough for both the yoke and the sleeve, but I did. This pattern is great for scraps. I love animal print way too much to let the fabric go to waste.

The animal print is more of a midweight while my black is more lightweight. Much more stretch in the black, but it’s totally fine. I sewed this up real quick, did not take much time at all. I did enjoy using my twin needle for the hems and neckline.

Pattern: Givre top

Size: 36

Fabric: leftover  jersey fabrics

Alterations: left off contrast sleeve

Overall: Win, win, win. I still have aspirations to add another contrast panel in the body and use 3 fabrics in it. I have a pinterest photo I love like that. But the right fabrics have to come along.

Givre Top Review: SewMyStyle2019

It’s SewMyStyle time again. This month the option was between the Sheona Top by Athina Kakou or the Givre by Deer and Doe. I really liked the color blocking and shape of the Givre top.

A couple days before the patterns were announced I had inspiration on a top hit me. I was thinking about what to wear with my Avery leggings I made for January SewMyStyle. Since they are so thin I have to have tunic length tops to go with it, of which I don’t have very many. At the time, I was going over ideas with the Halifax Hoodie. Emily Hallman showed a sweatshirt she was making with heart elbow patches and I knew I needed a black tee with heart elbow patches. When the patterns was announced, I pivoted my idea to include the colorblocking.

I sewed up a size 36 in the bust graded to a 40 at the waist. I’m really happy with the fit. Granted, it’s a knit so the fit is flexible. The Givre is not meant to be a tunic, I added 4.5″ to the length to make it tunic length. I also added my usual 1.5″ to the sleeves. It is 3/4 sleeve so it probably didn’t matter but I’m happy with the length.

Let’s talk fabric. I got both jerseys from fabric.com. The pink is an Telio Brazil Stretch ITY knit, you can tell there is spandex in it. It doesn’t unpick very well. I unpicked and redid the neckband. I thought I was going to be able to see the unpicking on the neckband but it isn’t visable. But I would be weary of making mistakes with this fabric. The black is a Bamboo Rayon Jersey  which is the best tshirt fabric. The leggings was a bamboo jersey and I think I’m in love with a fabric. My fiance even commented on how soft my shirt was.

The sequin fabric is from FashionFabricsClub found here. I had to order a yard so I will eventually make something with the rest.

Emily Halloman did a full tutorial about how to do the sequin elbow patches on her insta stories. I’m not sure if she’ll post it on her blog. Essentially I interlined the patches with a quilting cotton, sewed a line of stitching 1/4″ around and clipped the edges. Then pressed and handsewed the patches on. It would have been 100% easier to attach when the shirt was flat, but I wanted to make sure the patch placement was right.

Paired with my Avery Leggings its perfect for Valentine’s day at school. My kids are gonna love my outfit. However, the top is very wearable with other things on a normal day. Which I”m not sure I can pull off my Avery’s outside of Valentine’s day.

Pattern: Givre Top by Deer and Doe

Fabric: ITY knit, bamboo jersey knit, and sequin mesh fabric

Size: 36 graded to 40

Alterations: 1.5″ added to sleeve and 4.5″ added to body

Overall: I can see myself using this pattern again. Very simple, quick make.