The votes have been checked and tallied and the results are in! Congratulations to Astrid from Denmark who won the most votes for her beautiful striped top! Yaaaay!

Astrid made this lovely top from an Ingelise (so sad for me that it’s in Danish!) pattern with lightweight striped cotton and white linen for the yoke and covered buttons. You can see her excellent craftsmanship in some of her pictures (photos from: Astrid’s Flickr):

I love the button detail and the top is just perfect for spring with its airy sleeves and subtle colors. This was one of my favorites so it was fun to see it move into the final ten and then win! And how about that adorable…

Here are the winning tops from each of the ten groups in the Spring Top Week vote held earlier this week:

Row 1, left to right:
Layla, Kate, Brittney, Kate, Carrie
Row 2, left to right:
Sinje, Kelli, Cheryl, Meg, Astrid

Congratulations to those who won the first round! And even if you’re seething with jealousy, be sure to check out their blogs and leave them nice congratulatory messages.

So before I post the link for the final round of voting, let me clarify a few things:
I’m asking for a name and email address for each vote cast in the final round so that I can verify…

UPDATE: VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. THANKYOU FOR YOUR INPUT!So it’s time for you to vote on the tops from last week to choose this spring’s BEST TOP from our showcases! Here they are again if you’d like to look back: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. They are also pictured on the voting page.

ROUND ONE DEADLINE: Tuesday, 11 pm (Eastern time)

There were 100 tops entered in Spring Top Week last week (I know, how weird is that?), so for the first round of voting you will be able to pick one top each from ten…

This is the last completed top for this week; I’m hoping to have enough nap this afternoon to finish just one more…we’ll see! I’m not exactly sure what to call this top, but the neck seems a bit Victorian to me so I’m just going with that. It’s actually just a ruffle around the neck (ruffles seem to be my thing this spring) which I’ll give a few directions for below.

This top was a make-it-up-as-you-go creation. I started by putting a set of pleats in the fabric (before cutting even), each 1/2 wide and 2 inches apart. I traced the line on the bottom of my modified Smashing Smock pattern so I’d know where to stop the pleats, and then traced a “front” piece…

If you’ve hung around here awhile you know that I’m a big fan of Heather Ross’ prints. Her Mendocino line is no exception. The muslin I posted about on Tuesday was a test run for this top, another Smashing Smock (pattern: Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me). This time, though, I made the top backwards, with the yoke pieces made out of a tiny dotted print by Lecien (I don’t think this is available anymore) and the bottom the aqua mermaid print by Heather Ross:

I trimmed it with white piping, which I curved around the corners. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: piping makes everything look better!

Smashing Smock works again for the baby belly!

Serger tidbit:…

Here’s today’s Spring Top Week entries for your inspiration and enjoyment!

LEFT: Lorna of Lorna Doone made the Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing
CENTER: Mette from Mammaumulius made a top from Danish magazine Ingelise 9/08
RIGHT: Layla from Carrotflowers made this top from a Japanese pattern book

LEFT: Su from Vively Online made a vintage Simplicity top
CENTER: Bekah from Bekahomeka made New Look 6179 in white eyelet
RIGHT: Sue from Berkshire Cottage made Simplicity 4589

LEFT: Mariana from Portugal of Mae da Mafaldinha made her own version of New Look 6677
CENTER: Cheryl of SewCanDo made McCalls 5050 with vintage 60′s satin fabric
RIGHT: Kristin of…

Here’s another one of my creations, the adult-sized version of the Itty Bitty Baby Dress. The pattern was modified from this top from last summer (from a vintage pattern my mom gave me). This time I lengthened the top part with the idea that it would be an empire-waist top, and therefore be a bit more flattering than the original version. I also lengthened the ties and added pockets, a move which would have worked had I not accidentally cut the hemline too short. So now the pockets stick out under the hem when you have your hands in them…oops. Throw this one back on the pile!

The fabric is from Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern line. The background color is almost…

Happy Wednesday! Here’s another batch of new Spring Tops for you to peruse and enjoy!

LEFT: Kate of Curiositys made a top of her own design using a tank top and her Lei Neckline Tutorial (check it out on her blog)
CENTER: Sinje from Mighty Mouse with the first of two contributions today, her version of McCalls 5819
RIGHT: Shean at Diary of an Unconscious Mind made her very first top from my tutorial on SMS

LEFT: Bekah from Bekahomeka made KwikSew 3222 with a flour collar
CENTER: Lauren from Bananas for Breakfast made McCalls 5661 for her first non-baby sewing project
RIGHT: Wendy of West 38th made Jalie 2566 (I’d never heard…

First, let me make sure everyone knows what a muslin is. It’s basically a trial version made out of cheap fabric (hence the name) to make sure a pattern fits correctly before you cut into the fabric you really like. Since I started purchasing designer fabrics a few years ago, I’ve wasted too much of it to think about on tops that didn’t fit quite right. As a result I’ve started accruing cheap fabric to make muslins with. My secret source for muslin fabric is Urban Outfitters’ “bedspreads” (although I have yet to see one used as such); every so often they go on sale, and for about $20 or less you can get roughly 6 yards of fabric in really cute prints. That’s a…