Itch to Stitch Clemente Top

Sometimes a pattern and fabric appear at the same time and demand to be combined together. That's just what happened a couple of weeks ago when Itch to Stitch launched the Clemente top, and a couple of days later Hey Sew Sister released a particularly lovely yarn-dyed cotton gingham that seemed perfect for the pattern.

The Clemente top is a relaxed fit top for woven fabrics. It features front and back yokes with soft gathers, a bias bound neckline, button and loop closure at the centre back neck, and the choice of short, three-quarter or long sleeves with elasticated hems.

The pattern has A, B, C, D and DD cup sizes, and covers bust measurements from 30⅛" to 63" and hips from 33⅛" to 62".

The pattern instructions have a good level of detail and are very easy to follow, with clear diagrams illustrating the steps too. I've made a few Itch to Stitch patterns and they always have great instructions.

Clemente is a fairly simple pattern and comes together relatively quickly, but the yoke offers a bit of interest – particularly if you use a gingham/plaid or striped fabric and play with the pattern placement on the yoke. 

As you can see, I cut my yoke on the bias. The pattern recommends using stay tape around the neck and yoke seam if you do this to prevent the yoke stretching. I followed that recommendation and it seems to have worked nicely.

I made a size 10 and used the B cup pattern piece as recommended for my measurements, and I think the fit is good. It's relaxed as intended, but not overly loose or baggy. 

The only adjustment I made was to lengthen the pattern by an inch (standard for me). When I tried on my toile, which I hadn't hemmed, it felt like just the right length so I added the extra inch so I'd be able to hem the top and keep the length that I wanted.

The only other very slight change I made was to use ½" elastic in the sleeve hems instead of the ⅜" called for in the pattern, which was just because that was what I had in my stash.

As I mentioned above, the fabric that I used for my Clemente is a yarn-dyed cotton gingham from Hey Sew Sister. It's a lovely quality fabric, and was a pleasure to sew. I think this fabric is perfect for a Clemente – it has just enough structure and stability to make the sewing process a breeze, but it's also light enough to suit the relaxed shape. 

I took the time to match the back yoke pieces, and I'm glad I did that – it's always satisfying when pattern matching works out!

I'm pleased that the Clemente and this lovely gingham appeared together and "forced" me to combine them. It was an enjoyable project to sew, and my finished top feels lovely to wear. I quite fancy making a Clemente with an embroidered yoke, so I may well be using this pattern again.

McCall's 8553 zip front dress

This year two zip front dresses have been taking the sewing world by storm. After watching from the sidelines and seeing lots of lovely versions of both patterns pop up on my Instagram feed, I finally decided that I needed to jump on the bandwagon and sew one of my own. Here's my take on McCall's 8553...

The McCall's 8553 is a zip front dress, with a wide pointed collar, front bodice patch pockets, gathered long or short sleeves, and a gathered skirt in two different lengths with in-seam pockets in the front section. 

I made view B – the longer skirt (more on that below) and short sleeves, and I omitted the patch pockets.

The pattern is drafted for bust sizes from 30.5 to 46" and hips from 32.5 to 48". 

The reason that I chose M8553 for my zip front dress is that the zip opening and front neckline are finished with a facing, meaning that the neckline looks neat if you have the zip slightly open. 

In contrast, I read a review of the Fabric Godmother Aspen dress (the other popular pattern) that said there's no facing so you can see the zip tape on the inside of the dress when the zip is open. In the Aspen's favour, it does go up to a 57.25" bust and 56.75" hip, so it is more size inclusive.

I enjoyed sewing my M8553. You need to be quite accurate when sewing the collar and zip, but other than that it's not a particularly difficult pattern to sew. I found the instructions easy to follow and didn't have any problems during the sewing process.

As is often the case with Big 4 sewing patterns, this pattern is split into two size ranges (6-14 and 16-24). This always gives me a bit of a dilemma because my measurements put right between a 16 and an 18, but I know that there's often a lot of ease built into these patterns so it would be handy to have smaller sizes too. For me, it seems easier to reduce size than add extra width so I got the bigger size range. 

I ended up making a straight size 16, but having made a toile I decided to use a ⅞" seam allowance on the side seams instead of ⅝" to take it in a bit. I also lengthened the bodice by 1.5" (a standard adjustment for me).

One thing to note is that the skirt pieces for views B and C are LONG! I could tell the skirt would be longer than I wanted when cutting out, but I wasn't quite sure how much I'd want to shorten it so I cut out the full length pieces. When I added the skirt to the bodice, the dress ended up ankle length on me, and I'm taller than average (about 5'9"). I ended up cutting 7" off the skirt and using a 2" hem instead of the ⅝" called for in the instructions. You could definitely save a bit of fabric if you know you don't want the skirt to be quite so long.

If I make this pattern again, I'd possibly use a different skirt. The front skirt on this pattern is cut in three pieces, with the pockets between the side front and centre front panels. I think I'd prefer a more "normal" skirt with one front piece and the pockets in the side seams.

The fabric I used is a cotton twill that I bought from Jenny Stitches. It's not currently in stock in this colourway, but it is available in red, royal, yellow, emerald and cerise. Its a great quality fabric, really good value for money and a perfect weight for this pattern. The zipper tape and slider that I used were also from Jenny Stitches.

I feel like the plain fabric of this dress doesn't come across brilliantly in photos, but it's lovely in real life and it's a great dress to wear. I'm already considering a long-sleeved needlecord M8553 for the autumn/winter – let's see if I find time to make one!