After doing an assessment of my current wardrobe, I decided that I’m seriously lacking in the separates department. My heart will forever belong to dresses, but sometimes I need something to just throw on to walk the dog or run errands. I’ve got plenty of boring basic tops and really wanted a twist on that. Fortunately for me, Cashmerette Club had just what I was looking for in April’s pattern of the month – the Brattle Top. The Brattle is a cozy knit tee with an interesting twist in the front. It looks complicated, but I promise that it was really easy to sew. I finished my Brattle in an afternoon and used this cute cotton jersey I received from Minerva.
Minerva’s Core Range Cotton Jersey Stretch Knit fabric is a cozy, medium-weight fabric with teeny tiny stars on the design. They’re so cute! I received the color Brique, which is a juicy, deep peach color. It’s a lovely color, but a bit less red than I was expecting. If this isn’t what you’re looking for, there are 15 total colors to choose from,I experienced no pilling with this fabric and the 5% lycra gives the fabric stretch without losing structure. I had no issues sewing this fabric in my sewing machine or my serger. It irons well and keeps its color beautifully.
The Brattle Top is a short sleeve, knit top pattern designed for stretchy fabrics. Its main feature is the totally twisted front which takes it up a few notches from your everyday, simple t-shirt. This was a really easy and quick project, but there are a couple of things I would change before making my next Brattle. First, I would size down the sleeve pattern for a closer fit. This is something I normally have to do with patterns anyway, but I like making at least one garment as-is before going as altering a pattern. Second, and most important to me, the front of the shirt is way too short. While the back and sides of the shirt are a perfect length, the center of the bottom knot sits about two inches above my navel. I had to hike my jeans all the way up and there was still some belly peeking through when I moved. I haven’t decided if I’m going to lengthen the whole thing or just try to futz with the knot until it sits where I’d like it to.
Overall, this was a fun project to make. I already have a stack of Cashmerette Club patterns that I want to sew in the upcoming months. What do you think about this new wave of subscription-based sewing patterns?
