Today is my birthday!! And to celebrate my 28th year, I’ll be wearing this beautiful new Summer Day Top… As well as giving a copy of the pattern away to one of my awesome followers!
This pattern is the newest from the Made Everyday pattern collection, designed by the lovely Dana Willard (who you may be familiar with from her beautiful fabric design lines with Art Gallery fabrics!). The top is super versatile, with three different sleeve options, two different lengths, and two different shapes (boxy top vs. peplum)… And all can combine to make a million cute versions. Even better, thanks to the multitude of options, you can make this pattern in almost any fabric and come up with a totally different look. This really is the perfect pattern for summer.
Last year, I dug into some of my most precious fabrics that I’d been too afraid to cut into, and finally used them to make some super lovely sundresses as a birthday gift to myself. Unfortunately, I’m a big fan of the super fitted bodice, so not a single one of these 27th birthday makes fits me this year! This summer, I decided that the best way to celebrate my birthday would be by making myself some new beautiful handmade garments, this time using some pattern designs that would see me through pregnancy but still be wearable afterwards.
For my version, I chose the peplum top in a tunic length, with the cuffed sleeve option. Rayon is the absolute perfect fabric option for the peplum version of this pattern, and has been a dream to wear during the hot summer heat. I was lucky enough to get to use this great rayon challis, which is actually part of Dana’s most recent line of Art Gallery Fabrics. Even better, this line (called Day Trip) was inspired by road tripping across Texas! This fabric is about 54” wide, so I only needed 2 yards to make this longer peplum version of the top! I love that the yellow cacti offer a great pop of color on the charcoal grey of the fabric – yellow is a color that I love, but that does not typically look great on my skin tone, so this is the perfect way for me to add it in to my wardrobe. I love the way these colors look paired with a lighter bottom – these light wash jeans and my white denim shorts are my two favorite pairings for this top.
This pattern is put together so well; I had no issues cutting or assembling the top. Thanks to the slip-over-your-head, no closure nature of the top, this sewed up in a minimal amount of time. I really need to start timing how long I’m actually spending on projects, though it is probably offset a bit when I get distracted with episodes of The Office playing in the background…
Sewing clothing that works in maternity has been difficult for me. My sewing time is limited, so it is hard for me to consider putting so much time, effort, and energy into a garment that is only wearable with a giant belly. It has also been really sad for me to see the beautiful handmade wardrobe I’ve built up in the past 2 years that I’m now unable to fit into, and I don’t want the same thing to happen if I sew up a lot of great maternity items that I then won’t be able to wear next summer. Finding patterns that can work now and in the future has been my goal, instead, and I was able to do that with this pattern! Since I had chosen the peplum tunic version of the top, I chose my size based off of my bust measurement only. My pre-pregnancy measurements would put me in a size 2, but I currently sit just a bit larger than the size 4 measurements. I went ahead and sewed up a size 4, rather than sizing up to a size 6, and I am glad I did. The loose-fitting nature of the top already offers a bit of wiggle room, especially in the peplum version. The size 4 was the perfect fit for me, and I feel like once the baby bump is gone, I won’t feel like I am being swallowed up by it in the future.
As you guys may have seen in my Instagram stories, this has been an instant favorite for me. I may have even worn it two days in a row as soon as it came off the sewing machine. My wearable wardrobe is pretty limited right now, so most of the garments that fit are already in a decently heavy rotation. This top is something I can dress up or down, and is perfectly thin and breezy for the summer heat. I can throw it on easily, while still looking put together and feeling comfortable in what I’m wearing. This has filled a big hole in my wardrobe, as I feel like a lot of what I have right now is either one extreme or the other – fairly dressy, or gym casual.
So, now that I’ve convinced you that you need this pattern in your life, I’d love to help you get your hands on it! I will be giving away one copy of the Summer Day Top .pdf file over on my Instagram. To enter, you’ll just need to follow a few simple steps – one lucky winner will be chosen on August 14th!:
- Follow both myself (@pinsandpinot) and Dana (@madeeveryday) on Instagram
- Comment on my giveaway post by tagging one friend who needs the Summer Day Top
- Want a bonus entry? Add an additional comment on the post, telling me your favorite birthday freebie treat (example: a free Nothing Bundt Cakes bundtlet!) so I know where to go to celebrate!
Make sure your entries are in by the end of the day on Monday 8/13 – I will choose one winner at random and announce them on Tuesday 8/14! If you aren’t the lucky winner, don’t fret – I’ve included the purchase link below and I truly believe it is worth every cent!
Top: handmade by me
Pattern: Made Everyday Patterns – Summer Day Top
Fabric: Cactus Bloom in Noon – Art Gallery Fabrics – Rayon Challis
Though the pattern and fabric used in this post were generously provided to me by Dana Willard with Made Everyday, all opinions expressed are my own, as always!
- XX Elizabeth
