Imperious Jen is imperious.
This, as you may have noticed, is a navy top. I struggled with whether or not I should make another neutral top given that I am badly in need of more colour right now, but since this will go with literally everything else I have planned I've justified it to myself. I originally had an idea that I was going to make this one and then another one with the colours reversed, but when I got the fabric home I realised I already have a top in almost this exact teal colour, so I'm not going to do that and will repurpose the teal for something else. I think even though it's navy, it'll be fine - the teal keeps it from being totally dull-ass neutral if I want to wear it with grey, like this. I also did all my twin needle stitching with teal thread, though you can't see that because I forgot to make sure it was visible. I'm good at this.
It was my first time using this pattern and first time using this company, so I basically just did as I was told. I found the PDF sliiiightly fiddly; I liked that each pattern piece had its own set of sheets so I didn't have to put together some enormous floor-eating thing, but unlike every other PDF I've used so far, this one didn't have black lines around the usable area of the pattern, so I had to do a bit of "is this where I'm meant to be cutting?" guesswork on some of the pieces. But once I'd got over that, it was fine.
The top comes together super-quickly. I got a tiny bit confused about where all the various layers were meant to go when sewing the sleeves in, but other than that there's hardly anything to it. Binding on front and back necklines, baste at shoulders, sew in sleeves flat, sew up underarm and side seams, hem.
The only change I made to this pattern was to shorten it by a good three inches when I hemmed it. I don't really have any use in my wardrobe for tight-fitting long tops, so I shortened it to hit slightly below my belly button, which is the most versatile length of top for me.
(Please excuse this series of photos. I had about seven and a half minutes to get everything done before the heavens opened. Goddammit, bank holiday weekend weather.)
I would like to make this again, but I'd change a couple of things next time. First, I don't think ponte is quite the right fabric for this top, and second (which may actually be related to the first) the fit around the bust and underarm isn't exactly what I'd like. It might be different in a stretchier fabric, but a tiny bit more room in the bust and more give in the armpit would make a world of difference. I'm not actually sure what I'd use next time - she recommends medium to heavy weight jerseys, but finding a heavier jersey with a decent amount of stretch isn't easy. I shall have to ponder that.
(This is me pondering. Didn't even get a slightly comedic photo this time. I'm sorry and will try harder in future.)
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