A Top I Didn't Know I Needed

So, you know how sometimes you have a favorite thing and you have many of this thing because it's your favorite and you can't imagine that you could want a different version of this thing because you think this thing is already perfect?

No? Just me?

Well, I'm a die-hard Cashmerette fan, in particular the Springfield top. I have made at least six version of that tank top, maybe more like ten. It's a quick sew for me. I've perfected the fit. I've started hacking it into different iterations. I love it.

Sooo....when Helen's Closet asked for testers for a beginner's level tank top, I was happy to help but not terribly enthusiastic about the pattern itself. Because, you see, I had already solved that issue in my closet.

Or I thought I had.



Y'all. I love this top.

It was a sleeper for me. I was unsure if I liked it up to and including putting it on my body to wear for the first time. By the time we got home from a dinner out with friends, I was in love.



Here's why:
1. I don't have to worry about revealing all my blessings with the neckline.
2. It's THANKSGIVING DAY APPROVED! Overextended on the dessert and need an extra half inch in the waist? No problem. A-line swing to the rescue.
3. No. Underwear. Flashing. I added enough length to bring the hem down to my low hip. Since the fit is loose, it doesn't ride up to sit nicely puddled at the small of my back. EVEN WHEN I'M SITTING DOWN!

The shouting at you is justified since this top just solved the minor-willing-to-live-with-it issues I have with Cashmerette's Springfield. I didn't even know I was annoyed by these issues until suddenly, I didn't have these issues.



See? Sleeper. It took a hot minute to fully appreciate the blessed simplicity this simple top could bring to my wardrobe.

I've worn it twice more since I finished it a week and half ago.



I started with a straight 30 at the longest length given which was way too big in the shoulders and bust and too short for comfort at the unfinished hem. I, then, actually took my bust measurement, read the chart like a good little sewist, and started again. I graded from a 26 in the shoulders and bust (including the dart) out to a 30 in the waist. I also added an extra 4 inches in the hip because I'm hippalicious. I added 3 inches in length as well which brought it down to my low hip. So, not a straight out of the envelope pattern for me, but nothing is, and these were quite simple adjustments. I found the 26 fit really nicely down through the dart. The armsyce was a tad bit low, but not worth adjusting on my own. I know Helen did some further work on that area for the final pattern release. I used a quilting weight cotton from my stash. I also used leftover bias binding for the neckline and armsyce and the included facing pieces for the hem. (I tried the all in one facing in my first attempt and quite liked it but ran out of time for it in my second iteration.)

So now I have two TNT tank top patterns. I think I will go back and add some of these adjustments to my Springfield pattern. I should have done that anyway since my measurements have changed since I started using that pattern and I just didn't update it for my today body. I think the Ashton top is imminently hackable. I think I'd like to attempt a mashup for the two as well with the neckline from the Springfield.

There you have it. I love this top.



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