New to me IPM 2016: Seamwork Astoria

Hello, ladies! It’s so great to meet you all!

This is my first post here – and actually my first post anywhere in the sewing community. I have been sewing for about a year, but have felt too shy to share. After finding The Monthly Stitch, reading some of your posts and finding out about IPM 2016, I felt ready to join in the fun. So here I am! 🙂

This is me (Erica) and Tuli, who’s not sure what this is all about…

Anyway, on to the good stuff: the Astoria top, by Seamwork. And boy, is it good!

In the past year or so I realized that the best type of pants for my body shape are pantaloons. I bought a pair or five… and realized that I didn’t really have the right sort of top to wear with them. Typical me.

I’m a newbie at sewing,  but have always followed the online world and finally decided to look for a good pattern. I wanted the top to be short, just slightly over the waist of my pants. I wanted it to be fitted, because I do have a waist and if it doesn’t show, I look like a refrigerator! And I wanted it to be fun, because… well, just because.

Cue the Astoria top!

It really lives up to my expectations. It was very easy to make, fast enough, and fits just as I had hoped it would. I am definitely going to make more of it!

I used a dark gold knit that I got at the fabric mall here in Rio (oh, I may have forgotten to mention that I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). It’s soft, stretchy and looks fancy.

I downloaded the PDF file and printed and taped it all together, then cut it in size XL, which seemed to be the right size for my bust measurement. It worked out well, too. It came right to where  I wanted, slightly covering the top of my pants. There may be a bit too much fabric overall, though. I’m not sure.

Instructions were very clear and easy to follow, which made me feel confident to try this at home (and to try other Seamwork patterns right away).

I just realized it’s slightly off-shoulder in this picture, but I’ll post it anyway. I wanted to go outside and take great pictures for my first blog post, but it’s been raining nonstop!

I chose the 3/4 sleeves and like that length, but I think next time I will either add a cuff or narrow the sleeve a bit, to make it look more finished.

Here you can see the sleeve better. I think the bust measurement is accurate, but I might need to cut a size L and see how that goes, there does seem to be a bit of extra fabric here.

Well, I guess that’s it! I will try and join in the other challenges too, I had a blast getting ready for this one. I don’t have a blog yet, but that may change after this month!

Erica