and so I got a new top.

Once upon quite-some-years-ago, my sister made this rather fantastic floor-length velvet skirt to swan about the house in:

She ended up with about half a metre of fabric leftover, which somehow found its way to the Northern Hemisphere and sat in my pile for some time.

It’s now been a couple of years at least since I sewed it up, and I can’t for the life of me remember which decisions I made and why.

But here goes:

The back is basically a square/rectangle, sewed onto some curved necky bits. I think those are based off a pattern, or at least based of something I was previously developing that never made it to the ‘wearable’ stage.

At the waist is a long rectangular strip, which fastens the top via the waist with two dramatic buttons.

As you can see, the wasit band can be worn underneath for a slouchier look, which is my go-to, or on top for a tighter more-defined waist.

There’s also two button holes to adjust tightness depending on current fluffliness.

The side of the top has is gathered by a ribbon, which both creates bust shape, and ties at the back to fasten the whole thing.

I kind of love the simplicity of this, and want to try it with some other projects- although I think it does depend quite a lot on the weight of the fabric.

Overall, this is a pretty successful ‘quick sew’. I reach for it fairly often, and it’s good for layering in winter. I have a particular fondness for textures these days, as well as draaapppeee, and I love the weight of the velvet, the gathered neck, and the way the two different directions of fabric on the front give off different sheens.

It’s kinda got me inspired to make some more velvety things.

Good thing I bought those pink and gold curtain scraps of vinted the other month….

Sewn probably in 2024 or earlier?