The "heirloom" summer top

As my wedding dress is now substantially finished, and that I'm waiting for some supplies before I can finish it all off, I thought I'd take this chance to make a quick little top and take part in the one yard challenge on PR! 

So the key to this 2-week challenge is to make a wearable item using less than 1 yard of fabric. Having gone through my scrap bin, I thought this white cotton seersucker scrap with cute strawberries would be perfect for a little summer top and this challenge. 

I'm calling this "heirloom" because this fabric was given to me by my mum when I was at home around last Xmas. This was the scrap from when she made a dress for me when I was a little girl! Only if I had a photo of me wearing it all those years ago! 

With less than 1 yard (and 45" wide) of the "heirloom" fabric, I decided to make New Look 6965 view A which calls for 7/8 yard of fabric. 

I made the following alterations:

1. Instead of fusible interfacing, I underlined the front and back yokes because I was worried about ironing the seersucker fabric - whilst I know that good seersucker can be ironed as the puckers are woven into the fabric, I didn't want to take the chance. 
2. I didn't like the straps for view A, so I made some rouleau loops for the straps instead. 
3. The fit of the pattern was very loose - I cut a size 4 (given the generally larger sizes of New Look patterns) and took in about 2 inches at the waist (in total - 1 inch per side). I prefer the resultant fit much better. 

Overall I was really happy with how it's turned out - I think I've done the heirloom fabric proud! What's more, I've still got a little bit of it left - maybe enough to make a kindle cover? or a cover for my gigantic new phone, Galaxy Note (long story -- my iphone was stolen in Prague so I decided to get something different as a replacement). 

I liked the casual look of the top - teaming it with skinny jeans or shorts should both work (right now it's far too cold to wear shorts... so I'll have to try that out later!) and I can't wait for summer to finally arrive! But if summer simply refuses to arrive in the UK (once again) this year, I may just lose my mind... but looking on the bright side, I can wear it on holiday to Malta and/or on our mini moon to Paris. 

I loved how simple the pattern is - I managed to start and finish it within a day so it would be a great pattern for beginners. 

Here are some more photos:

 

I adore the little button detail at the back! Although I don't actually need to undo it to get in and out of the top, I think it's a sweet touch. 

I also really like how finished the top looks - that're barely any seams that need finishing. Having done hundreds of hours of hand sewing finishing of the seams on my wedding dress, this was a quality that I highly valued.  

So that's what I've been up to on the bank holiday Monday! Before the supplies for the wedding dress final touches arrive, I wonder if I could fit in another quick project?