Sew Liberated Esme Top

I feel like I’ve been doing a decent job of keeping up with my unofficial goal of taking blog photos somewhere other than my old standard- the Blue Wall of Blue.

Justin kindly walked ankle deep through this creek to take pictures of me. However, this benign little stream is deceiving. We took these shots last week but not a week before that we had such intense rain around here that this creek was rushing probably 12 feet higher than this. Lots of flooding in Central Texas lately.

The Goal: I’ve been teaching sewing classes at a new fabric store in town and the owner and I are planning upcoming classes, one of which shall be for the Esme Top. I sewed this version up as a sample.

The Pattern: Sew Liberated’s Esme Top. My first foray into Sew Liberated was with their Myla Tank which I quite like (although I’ll need to sew another one as my original is now hanging up in the store).

I liked the button bib front with the gathers underneath and I was surprised to find the sleeves are cut on the bias which is a nice touch.

The Fabric: Ugh, I wish I could remember the details on this fabric but I bought it so long ago. I know it’s a cotton voile and probably from one of those recognizable fabric print designers like Anna Maria Horner or something. Anyone recognize it?

The buttons came from my stash.

The Changes: Only one – when I finished the top I liked it but the overall fit seemed rather large. On the other hand the sleeve cuffs are a little tight. Next time I’ll add about an inch to the cuffs.

It seemed like the back of the shirt was the culprit for the roominess in the fit. I mean, it’s supposed to be a loose, casual top, but even Justin suggested it could be smaller. It fits well in the shoulders and in front so next time I think I’ll just take a few wedge slices out of the back to compensate.

For this go around, though, I just decided to do a little trick of making a pleat at the center back. I just sewed a 2″ line vertically a couple inches inward from the center back. It makes a little box pleat and helps to nip the fabric in at the waist.

I tried this before on an Archer shirt, but the pleat was pretty small and easily hidden in the plaid fabric. This shirt however needed to be tightened up quite a bit. I don’t love this fix but I suppose it’s better than taking an awkward slice out of the center back and leaving a back seam instead.

The Results: I think this top is pretty fun. I like the loose feel and the long-ish sleeves. I’ve seen a few versions in stripes which I quite like the look of. I have a stripe fabric in mind that might work great with this pattern.