A few little tops

I have used the Oliver + S hopscotch pattern to make several knit tops and a dress.  The cross-over neckline and the little, gathered centre front are what lifts this from being another ordinary T-shirt or t-shirt dress. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, and the neckline always seems to come out very even.  This is important because the perfectionist in me dislikes uneven binding that (I think) makes a garment look homemade.  It also brings back memories of the school t-shirts my mother made us about 30 years ago which, funnily enough, didn't look like any of the other kids' t-shirts....

I ordered some more Spoonflower prints in their knit fabric because
1) there is so much choice
2) no-one else is likely to have the same fabric - let alone the same pattern made up in the same fabric -  so there is very little chance of a fashion faux pas

3) because I am addicted

 

Funky fantasy flowers - warm spring on white (medium) by rhondadesigns

I made this into the hopscotch dress

which Rosa is rockn' with her purple leggings!

The second material was used for a short-sleeved top

Funky feathered friends by angelaanderson


 

and the modelled shot

 

Rosa's own headband

I also recently made another long-sleeved t-shirt for the upcoming cooler months.  Again, I found an appropriate fabric on Spoonflower but I used the Ottobre design creative workshop 301 - Best t-shirt Pattern.

The fabric was an age-appropriate print, Fairy islands, 1916 by craftyscientists

 

Ottobre workshop 301 t-shirt size 104cm

 

It will be interesting to see how well these prints wear.  After the first wash I thought that some of the dye had come out and the print was not as bright, and in some areas such as the neckline there appears to be some show-through of the base fabric (where the binding has stretched a little).  I wonder if there is a way of reducing the likelihood of fading: a really hot iron to set the print before washing, or adding vinegar or salt to the wash (in the same way that you would add these after fabric dying)? 

 

A little bling added to the flowers

And, I just have to add, none of these tops look like something my mother would have made!



Unfortunately, there appears to be a model and/or photographer strike in Wellington and there are no modelled photos currently.... 

Or, perhaps, Rosa has decided that now that she is an internet star she can be more demanding and fussy about what she will wear!