Flora hacked!

This top is one I’ve been meaning to make for a while. Probably since I saw the hack post on the BHL blog.  I’ve just checked and the date of this post is May 2014, that’s a long time to think on a top!

Anyway, having finally got myself organised to make this top, I pretty much followed the instructions on the blog.  As the instructions are nice and clear and illustrated with photographs, there’s not a huge amount to say about the method.

I made a couple of changes, firstly, I added 5cm in length to the bodice. I knew I needed to do this from a previous attempt of the wrap dress. I have a long torso so this is a standard alteration for me however, this is still a very short top, definitely crop top length.  This was what I wanted, to go with high waisted skirts/trousers, however just be warned if you want a slightly longer wrap top.

I used a Swiss dot cotton that I picked up on Goldhawk Road. It’s really fine so I would have had to line it whatever I used it for, so this Flora top was perfect as the instructions have you line the Flora bodice.  Instead of using ribbons as instructed by the tutorial, I made a couple of ties out of the fabric.  These were pretty easy to create and I think work better than a ribbon would have done with this particular top, although next time I might use a fancy ribbon as I love the version that the BHL girls made.   I made each of the ties about 80cm each which means I can tie them at the side or behind.

While I love the idea of this as a wrap top, I think I’m actually going to stitch it shut as having worn it all day, I did spend a fair amount of time flashing my bra and was glad that I had opted to wear a scarf most of the day.  The scarf is a hand painted silk one that was a birthday gift from a friend of my dad’s.

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