Here’s my top for today:
(JCrew necklace = push gift from Mr Rae)
I’m slowly but surely learning how to work with knits, and trial and error seems to be my best strategy. I fell in love with this super-soft peach bamboo blend at Field’s in West Michigan a couple months ago and decided it would become one of my spring tops.
A little about my design process: I wanted something with a ruffle detail to make the solid-color top a little more interesting, so I basted a 3″ ruffle along the neckline before sewing the facing in.
The easiest way to do this is just to cut a really long strip of fabric and stuff it under the presser foot as you go, no gathering or anything like that. It makes the gathering uneven, which is the look I was going for. Then I sewed the facing on, turned it right-side out, and tacked down the ruffle along the raw side. You can see a before/after here:
See? Doesn’t that look better? I decided not to do it around the armholes though since I wanted the ruffle to function as a sleeve there.
Pattern: I used this top (which I wore all the time until I spilled spaghetti sauce on it…BAH!) as a jumping off point for the pattern. It’s loosely based therefore on Anna Maria Horner’s Smashing Smock pattern from her book Seams to Me. Because this knit has so much stretch to it (bamboo/lycra blend, I talk about those more in this baby tights tutorial) I decided to interface the top pieces. This ended up being a poor decision as it made the seams stiffer and therefore less forgiving. Oh well, live and learn.
Just to show you another thing, at one point I tried it on backwards just to see what it looked like, and actually really liked how it looked:
please disregard baby food stains on left thigh
The front sweetheart neckline didn’t exactly look great on the back though, so I would have had to tear out the whole thing including the ruffle to redo it. Not worth it. Plus when Elliot (he’s 3 yrs old) saw me wearing it this way, he said, “You sew your shirt on backwards?” That killed it right there. But doesn’t it look kindof cool like this? I think I’ll do this design in a solid voile later.
Here’s me rockin it with my skinny jeans and Minnetonkas.
Have you voted yet on today’s tops? Go here to see them in all of their glory. Voting ends tomorrow at 6 am EST.
25 Responses to Rae’s Peachy Pink Bamboo Knit Top
Leave a Reply
For you to sew!
sponsors!
about Rae
Hi, I'm Rae and I love to sew! I live in Michigan. This blog is a showcase for my crafty stuff.
More about me...
Email me!looking for spring tops?
looking for boy stuff?
I’m over here too…
sponsors!
I offer licenses for handmade sellers who would like to sell items made with my patterns on a small scale. To see all of the available licenses, visit the 
love it! Aren't knits fun?! My 2 other (non-entered) spring tops were knit too. It's kinda addicting.
Beautiful!!! I love the bottom!
Also, I'm with you, I totally try on my clothes backwards all the time. Sometimes they're actually cuter for some reason??
So pretty! Love it! I'm from Muskegon, and I remember many a time tagging along to Field's with my mom and grandma!
Pretty! Nice work!
Love the top… Very spring-y. Plus your boots are awesome!
LOVE this!
Cute! Love the jeans and boots… This whole spring top thing has got me wanting to try knits again!
so cute and comfy looking. i love the accessorizing! I just got my first pair of skinny jeans last week – I love them!
That is lovely. The colour is so pretty. Thanks for the inspiration again!
That is super cute! I also like it backwards:).
OH my! RAE. It's gorgeous! and yes, it's cute either way! Seriously, really really cute.
Great design m'lady!
and yes, CUTE boots
I WANT that shirt! Give it to me. Right now
I love the whole ensemble. I'm still scared of knits.
Oh man…how come I didn't know about the push gift? I have two kids – can the gifts be given retroactively? Will your husband tell my husband?
I really like the ruffle sleeves. They look very comfortable. I can see myself wearing a top like that… that's how I'm doing my voting for Top Week!
Love this top. I ordered some bamboo from fabric.com and now I know what I'm going to make with it. Oh, and I lurve me some Minnetonkas. I still have a pair from high school that are the old skool soft sole moccasins. I wear them all the time!
Growing up in New Era, I wondered with your last name if you were from West Michigan! (we live in Indiana now)
Loving spring top week… would have played along, but have other pressing projects this time.
Gorgeous! Love all the detail work…
Great pattern! I love the soft color, especially w/the dark rinse jeans. Beautiful job Rae!
This top is awesome—I can just imagine how soft it is! I'm also getting into knits…I have a lot to learn.
Lovely top but I'm afraid I'm with Miss Prickly here, much more obsessed with the push gift. Why didn't I know about that? More to the point, why didn't my husband know about that?
PS My word verification is 'mistbra'. Hee hee…
Wonderful color and design. Thank you for the post.
Freaking cute!
Great stylish design, a bit 60ish but still looks chic and stylish. I like it.