Tova, take one

I thought I'd pop back here with a photo of the finished Tova shirt and answer some of the questions about it that came up after yesterday's post.

I made the size L - which according to the size chart is a 10/12 (bust 37"/38"). It fits great in the shoulders, the length is fantastic, and it just skims my hips. I chose to make the L because I knit sweaters and when I buy commercial patterns for tops, I do so based on my bust measurement, which is 38". The finished Tova is *slightly* too tight on me across the bust. It fits my dress form (a size 12, 38" bust), but there isn't much ease under the arms and across the chest. I think it's hard to tell that from this photo, but trust me, the ease is not there. I think if I were a size 10, 37" bust, it would fit pretty well. My guess is that it fits the smaller of the two number sizes better than the larger. Just a guess. So I am going to re-trace the pattern and cut an XL, figuring from my experience, that this is probably going to do the trick in the bust. I'll take in the sides if I need to.

As far as fabric goes, this is a quilting cotton called Meadow (in green) from the Sarah Jane collection from Michael Miller. I was pretty smitten with the ditsy green floral and had to use it even though quilting cotton is probably not the best fabric for this top. Shirting fabric would be ideal and I really think that Liberty Tana Lawn or some gorgeous Anna Maria Horner voile would drape beautifully and be absolutely stunning.  I just wasn't willing to cut into the good stuff for my first try. And actually, I'm not going to for the second try either. I'm going to use quilting cotton again, knowing that if it fits, I'll still wear it. Fingers crossed that it will and then Tova take three will get the good stuff.

The sewing portion of making this was very straight forward. The pattern is well written and there are some good photos which helped me wrap my brain around a couple parts. I did serge my seams, as suggested. If you don't have a serger, I'd suggest using the overlock stitch if your machine has one or zigzagging the edges. French seams would be a good option for everything except for where you sew the sleeve to the body because of the added bulk. But I don't really know - that's just a guess. It came together fairly fast for me, but I have been accused of being a fast seamstress, so take that with a grain of salt.

I also bought the pattern in the smaller size range so I could make the dress version for the girls. They are both making the transition from girls' clothing to the world of juniors and I find it especially difficult to find age appropriate clothing for them both, but especially for Kate who is fourth grade and 5'1".

Any other questions? I'll happily answer them in the comments.