The Ella Top

The short and sweet:  Love this top.  Fit me beautifully.  Pattern is very well written.  No craziness when taping the pdf together.  If you are scared of sewing with silky fabrics, this would be a great pattern to practice with.  Just press and pin lots!  Now for all the details, read on…

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When I find a pattern I love, I tweak it and modify it and use it over and over and over and over again.  The Ella Top by Liola Patterns has been that pattern for me this August.  I LOVE this top.  I picked up the pattern as part of Indiesew’s Summer 2015 pattern collection.

I stitched it up straight off the pdf in a small with one exception.  I debated a medium or at least a full bust adjustment, but decided to run with it.  After seeing others’ versions, I did decide to raise the neck line about one inch.  Here’s the tutorial I followed.  It’s stitched up in a 100% cotton woven.  I’m not sure where I found the cute elephant fabric but I love it. It’s a quilting/crafting weight fabric.  The fit is almost spot on for me.

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I decided to make a corded piping in a contrast fabric for the back trim.  Love it.  (Please excuse the wrinkles.  I’ve worn the snot out of this top since I made it!)

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Since I liked it so much, I decided to do it again.  This time in a polyester silky leopard print that I picked up at Hobby Lobby some time ago.  I’m not a leopard print kinda gal, but I’m planning on this being a layering tank.

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To modify it this time, I stitched the neck and arm bindings out instead of down.  I love it.  Also, after wearing the elephant tank a few times, I decided that the back yoke was just tight enough to be uncomfortable sometimes.  So, I just cut my back yoke on the bias.  Boom.  Extra give.  Woo hoo.  The final change I made on this piece was an easy one.  Instead of the back pleat, I just gathered those few inches.

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And then I went off and did it again. 

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This is my favorite!  This is a piece from Hancock’s Fabrics’ special occasion line.  I’m sure it’s a poly blend but I bought it so long ago, I couldn’t tell you more than that. 

The modifications:  1.  back yoke is cut on the bias and 2.  added 11 inches to the length.  That’s it.  I love a good pattern hack!

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