Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

 The Instructions

It was so dark when I took the pictures last night. You can now see that the top is actually green. I'm very lucky in that friends give me fabric and I'm always the very happy recipient. As I was thinking about what fabric I had to make this week's pattern out of, I remembered the suede cloth that a friend had given me. I must like the color (it is the color of my eyes) as I also had some remnants of the wool knit that matched perfectly. So, I was all set. The circle portion can be made out of a woven or knit fabric, the cuffs and hip band must be made out of knit.

 The top is so very simple to make, and to my surprise, the most comfortable top to wear.

 It's basically, two half circles and three rectangles.

I really like how the top drapes around the cuffs. The top is also reversible as you can see from my mistake of putting it on backwards. The very first picture shows the top with the scoop in the front. I like it both ways.

To get started, measure the length of both arms and across your shoulders. I would subtract 3" from the length of your arm measurement to compensate for the cuff. My measurement divided in half was 27". With your fabric on the fold, measure down your length and then across the fabric the same amount. In the above picture you can see my measurement of 27" on the lines. From the apex of the angle, measure down your measurement (mine 27") to form the circle. Do this twice, one for the front and one for the back.

Once the two half circles have been cut, you will now need to determine your neckline. I wanted a rather open neckline so I can wear some larger jewelry and maybe another top under this top. For my neckline, I found the center of the half circle. At this point I measured down 1/2". From the center line, I measured over 4" and drew in a shallow curved line. 4" from the center line will give you a fairly open neckline. If you want something a little smaller, maybe go down to as little as 2 1/2" from the center line. Remember, you can always cut away more, it's a little more difficult to add back.

For the front neckline, once again find the center of your half circle. Measure over the same measurement you used for your back neckline. For the depth of your neckline, measure down from the pit of your neck your desired length. You can draw in any style of neckline that you wish. I wanted mine to be a scoop. In the above picture you can see that there are notches for the opening for the cuffs and for the hip band. To determine where the notches should be for your hips, this should be half of your hip measurement.

 You can see my cuff in the above picture. Measure around your arm. Make sure the measurement is a measurement that will be comfortable. This will become the measurement for the width of your cuff. Divide that measurement in half and that will be the measurement of the opening for your cuff on the circle.
For the hip band measure your hips, snugly. You want your hip band to have some stretch. As for the length of your cuffs, I cut my cuffs 12" long and my hip band 10" long. I folded them in half in order to not have a seam on the edge.

 You can see in the above picture that your hip band will be smaller than the opening you leave in the circle. You may want to subtract 2" to 3" from your hip measurement for your hip band. Once you have sewn the center back seam in the hip band, fold it in half, it will now look like the hip band in the above picture. Divide your hip band into 4 equal parts and divide the opening in the circle by four. Match the divide areas, you will need to stretch the hip band as you sew it to the circle. Do the same with the cuffs.

For the neckline, I used some of my knit to make a band. The knit has a nice stretch and works beautifully around a curve. I cut my band 1" wide and sewed it to the top with a 1/4" seam allowance. I then pressed under the opposite edge 1/4" and sewed that edge to the garment.

And you're finished!! As I said, this top is extremely easy to make, so good luck. As always, if you decide to give it a try and have any questions, please feel free to ask.