This top was made as part of a Sewcialists editors challenge where we all made the same pattern, mostly in the same fabric. It’s fun to see the same fabric or pattern on different bodies and how different people interpret the same thing!
This time we all used the Wiksten Shift pattern, and all used some version of linen noil or silky noil. I don’t mind the result, but I don’t particularly love it.
I fell into my usual trap of picking a print, “because I should wear more prints”. WHY? WHY SHOULD I WEAR MORE PRINTS??? I don’t like wearing them overly, with some notable exceptions, so I really need to stop feeling like I have to wear them!
I feel like this top is so basic, that you need a basic fabric for it. It looks stunning in a subtle stripe, in soft colours, or in a plain but textural linen. In this fabric, which is both not subtle and not plain, I feel like it just looks a bit odd. It’s too simple in the pattern to be “special” but too special in the fabric to be a simple top. As a result, it’s not quite either and I have very little clue when I will wear it.
I will keep it for a while, as I like the shape. Maybe I need to make some plain work pants to go with it or a pencil skirt? Dunno. Either way, it’s not yet a fail, but also not yet considered a success either…
All the deets:
Pattern: Wiksten Shift Dress (as a top)
Size: 20
Adjustments:
- I took away length from the short dress version to make a top
- I curved the hem a little, so it’s higher at the front and a bit lower at the back, in a curve
- I left off the pockets
Fabric used: Linen noil from Tessuti (Italian)
Like it? Wearing it? Not sure and I will try.
Notes for next time:
- Quick to make
- Consider fabric choices carefully!
- Would like to make this pattern again, perhaps as a dress version?