Sew Over It Susie Blouse

I have a long-standing intention to sew more tops. It's a good intention, but it tends to get neglected in favour of the latest shiny new dress pattern, or the opportunity to sew another beautifully twirly skirt. All those skirts will end up being left in the wardrobe if there aren't tops to wear with them though, so when Sew Over It released the Susie blouse pattern recently, it seemed to be just the kind of top I was after so I took it as a sign and got stitching.

As the pattern description says, Susie is a simple but versatile everyday top. It's a loose fitting bodice, with a V-neck, collar and 3 different sleeve lengths (I made the short sleeved version). It appealed to me because of the lack of closures - while I love buttons in general, and I happily wear shirtdresses, I've come to realise that, after an initial burst of enthusiasm when I've just made them, my shirts/blouses that button up tend to get left in the wardrobe. I have no idea why that is, but there we go. Hopefully this little blouse will get worn more!

The lack of any form of closures also means that this is a fairly speedy project - I think I sewed this within a few hours.

This was also helped by the fact that the instructions are really easy to follow and detailed and, combined with the clear photos, make the sewing process a breeze.

In terms of sizing, I fall right between a Sew Over It 12 and 14 on my bust and waist, and between a 14 and a 16 on my hips. Based on the finished garment measurements, I decided to go with the lower of the two sizes, and made a 12, grading out to a 14 at the hips. The fit is spot on as far as I'm concerned - loose enough to be comfy, but fitted enough that it has a nice shape to it and isn't just a tent.

The fabric I used is a lovely spotty lawn that I bought about a year ago from Guthrie & Ghani. It's been sitting in my stash since then, which is a long time for me to wait to use a fabric. I originally bought it with the intention of making a dress, but when it arrived I thought that it was so lightweight that it would be better suited to being a top. It's almost become a number of other patterns over the last year, but I kept changing my mind about what to make. When the Susie pattern appeared, I decided to stop dithering and just use it. Thankfully, I think they suit each other perfectly so that seems to have been a good decision!

I'm happy with the end result, and I can see that I'll make more Susie blouses in the future - for starters, there's another piece of fabric that's been in my stash a while which would probably work well, although I'm thinking of trying a collarless version to mix it up a bit. I also treated myself to New Look 6217 in a recent pattern sale after seeing some pretty versions of the top online. Does anyone have any other good top/blouse patterns to recommend?