Linen is wonderful. Like cotton, linen, a textile woven from flax fibres, is one of the oldest and most popular textiles in history. It comes in different kind of weaves, looser or tighter, unbleached or dyed, and when washed, it wrinkles very easily.
There’s an old proverb that says “Never choose your women or your linen by candlelight” (Oxford Dictionary of proverbs) Apparently, it warns agains the deceitfulness of things in the light of the candle. Thankfully we don’t live in the sixteenth century, but sexist remark aside, it does talk about the importance given to choosing the best linen.
This particular linen I chose, has some cotton in it, so it doesn’t wrinkle as much as pure linen. It’s also softer and the loosed weave makes it very airy and breathable.
I’ve been thinking about making this linen top the moment I saw Seamwork Magazine’s Catarina dress. The original sewing pattern is created for soft fabrics with some drape, so I knew this was going to look rather boxy and structured, but I wasn’t sure just how boxy and whether it was going to be wearable.
Pattern and construction
I initially cut out a size larger for the tank top (or the bodice), just to make sure it would be wearable, but it was too boxy, so I ended up taking that one size off from the sides. I also made the straps much wider shorter, which brought the neckline higher. I lengthened the bodice, adding a few inches to the waistline.
In retrospect, I maybe should have lined it with a softer fabric, maybe a cotton batiste to make it less rigid. But I quite like that it looks very different from any other top I have. Even with the double layer the top is breezy and easy to wear.
The linen top can be worn tucked in or over another garment, like a pair of jeans. It’s not quite a crop top, but it’s shorter than I usually wear, to balance out some of the boxiness. I am also looking forward to colder weather, I think this could look good layered over a blue shirt I have or under a cardigan.
The skirt is the same floral one I posted about before. I’ve already worn this more times that probably any other skirt I’ve ever worn, so I’m considering it a great success. For a skirt 🙂
I used a rectangle of fabric I had for the skirt, then created the pleats and added the waistband. Pretty straightforward.
Last thing about the top: look at the back straps and the backline of this garment, and how perfectly they align. What a beautiful pattern.
Garment notes:
Sewing pattern: Catarina dress, altered
Things I wish I’d done differently: Use a bigger piece of fabric to remove the center seams, maybe line it in a lighter fabric.
Fabric: half a metre leftover white linen from another project.
No notions, thread from my stash.
Final cost = CAd $4 pattern (with the subscription) + $10 fabric = $14