This is the Cherie-Cherie top from I Am Patterns. This is the second pattern I’ve used from this French company. I’ve also made broderie-anglaise and rayon versions of their Pan top.
The fabric is a really lovely heavy cotton jersey bought on a visit to the The Cloth House in London with a white sweatshirting for the heart and neckband.
I made a few adjustments to it based on my experience with the Pan tops. There’s a lot of ease built into this pattern which is great because it gives lots of fit options so I made this up in the 36 although based on my bust measurement I would have been a 40.
I also
- shortened the body to around the same as the Pan top;
- lengthened the sleeves by 2.75″;
- changed the collar to a neckband because I find those easier to wear; and
- added tape to stabilise the shoulder seams.
The construction is pretty straightforward with the heart being the most difficult part to assemble. The stripe matching added a slight extra layer of challenge. Hand basting the rest of the back seam to keep everything lined up helped a lot.
I narrowed the collar piece slightly before sewing it on as a neckband topstitched from the outside for a nice clean finish.
Once I’d added the extra length to the sleeve pieces I debated about having elbow length sleeves or folding them into cuffs. After basting one of each onto the tee I went for the shorter option but decided to shape them in slightly so they narrowed to better fit my arm.
This meant taking a triangular wedge out of the sleeve cuff piece so that when it was stitched and turned it would sit flat. I removed a 1″ wedge in the end, stitched and trimmed it.
This gave a nice shape to the finished cuff.
Overall result- a comfortable, easy to wear top with a surprise in the back. I like that I can layer different colours of tops and vests under it. It would also work really well as a basic tee without the heart in the back.
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