I recently took a trip to San Francisco and found THE BEST fabric warehouse store (Discount Fabrics, in San Francisco, if you’re ever nearby!) and hit the motherlode in sweater knits, jerseys, and winter weight pontes.
As I brought up roll after roll to the checkout counter, the lady in charge became more and more irritable, eventually asking my mom if I actually planned on buying all those fabrics (probably thinking I was going to decide on one or two cuts and ask her to put the rest back!). My mom affirmed my good (if excessive) intentions, and after that, we got a much warmer response.
As we were leaving, we heard one of the male helpers comment incredulously to his co-worker that “she must like to sew?”, to which the co-worker answered “No! She LOVES to sew!”. As you have probably realized by now, the latter is very much the case, and I was excited to dive into my new stash to make the new Brasov Top by Itch to Stitch.
I’ve tested for Kennis before (the Lago Tank- see it here and here) and been impressed with her thorough and professional testing process. There are many things to consider when decided which designers to test for (that’s a whole different post!), but she is one of my favorites because of the momentum and encouragement in her testing groups, as well as her extensive knowledge on tackling fitting and technique issues. I always learn something new and come away with more confidence in my sewing prowess!
Despite the tight timeline before my scheduled trip to Hawaii (SO excited- more on that later!), I jumped into the Brasov test not only so I could use some of my new fabric, but also because I wanted to see if it would make the perfect fall nursing top.
Mindful of the fact that the Princess is 20 months old and may not nurse forever (but then again, she might), I want to make pieces that will also be welcome in my wardrobe after she is fully weaned, but that are also perfectly functional now. The Brasov, with its signature side and shoulder pleats and surplice neckline, looked like it would fit my criteria perfectly.
I chose a slub knit with decent horizontal stretch but almost no vertical stretch (the fabric didn’t come labeled, but I suspect it is a cotton/rayon/poly blend) and graded out form a 00 to a 0 at the hips.
The grading was definitely necessary- this top is pretty fitted, especially in the back, which makes for a very nice silhouette but also means grading is a good idea to get the right fit all around. I did not make any other adjustments, and I love the fit and finish of my new top.
I do tend to have a broader upper back, and may make a slight adjustment there in the future if I am using a similar fabric – though I don’t think it would be necessary in a rayon spandex or sweater knit with 4 way stretch.
If you are making this for nursing, I would recommend skipping the step that has you finish the front crossover edges- this will essentially stabilize your fabric making it harder to pull down and for feeding access. With that modification, this is the perfect fall and winter nursing top- and with shortened sleeves and a lighter fabric it would even make a beautiful summer piece as well. (Jewelry is from a local artisan and fellow WAHM- Grayc Glass. I treated myself to a couple pieces for my birthday 🙂
I wish I had found enough time to make a second version before my trip- but it’s high on my to-do list for when we return! Grab your pattern on sale HERE! Don’t forget tiered discounts also apply to your order- so you can also get 20% off with $30+ purchase or 15% off with $20+ purchase!
This is what happens when you are trying to do 5 photoshoots in two days with a 15 minute sunset window before bedtime and only so much baby bribery (froot loops, if you must know!)…. you RUN back to the house to change! In flip flops no less, because my feet weren’t going to be in the picture and it was blazing hot out!
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