Lindy Tate — Matchy Matchy Crop Top + Pencil Skirt!

I’m so glad to be a little part of this sewing community! I found The Monthly Stitch right about the same time that I started sewing for myself, and you guys have pushed, challenged, and inspired me ever since! Happy Birthday, TMS! In honor of your birthday, I went out of my comfort zone in many ways. High-waisted? Crop Top? Matching two-piece outfit? Bring it on! 🙂

So I never thought the crop top trend would come back… but I guess everything comes back at some point, right? And did I think I would be sewing myself a crop top at 30? Nope. But here I am, nonetheless. 🙂

Luckily (I guess?) another trend I’m still a little unsure about has come back too — high-waisted everything! I remember when I put on my Air Force uniform for the first time, I could not believe how high-waisted my pants were. All of my uniform pants hit me at my rib cage (or higher lol… I have a surprisingly short torso for my height)… so it was good training, I guess. Before that I felt uncomfortable in anything that made it up to my belly button. Oh how times change. 🙂 For the better though… I’m also extremely glad low rise jeans are out of the picture!

For this make, I paired the Lindy Petal Skirt from Itch To Stitch (not super high-waisted, but enough for this combo) with the Tate Top from Workroom Social (both FREE patterns, which is awesome) 🙂 I cut both from this fun printed Ponte de Roma knit from Cali Fabrics.

(Excuse the wrinkles… I took photos after getting back from our trip to Catalina so it was stuffed in my bag for a while) 🙂

For the skirt, I added 2 inches to the length and lined the back piece with a plain ivory cotton spandex from Girl Charlee. It’s a pretty substantial skirt with all those layers!

I cut the cropped version of the Tate Top pattern. I cut my size, but went with the longest length on the pattern piece. I wish I’d gone a little bit longer so I’d feel comfortable wearing it with other things, but it was too late once I realized — and I didn’t have quite enough fabric for another one. I thought about changing up my challenge and cutting the fabric in two different directions for the top and the bottom, but then figured that might be a little much with the already crazy pattern going on. 🙂

I omitted the zipper in the back of the top since I was using a knit and used bias binding for the arms and neck. I love how the binding turned out in this thick knit… almost like a piping (haha… piping).

The neckline gapes a little bit in the back but other than that I love the fit. I really want to try a woven version of the Tate Top in the full length. It’s a great, simple top.

So there you have it! A two-piece outfit for the “2” challenge. TMS – taking me out of my comfort zone one month at a time 🙂 Thanks guys!

Until next time,