while you're ahead…

I’ve been eyeing peplum tops for a while and then the lovely Fiona (you can find her here) suggest the Marthe top (or Blouse Marthe) and I was sold.

I wasn’t sure which fabric to use, well aware that something not drapey enough would look stiff and sticky-outy (… you find me a better word if you can), then I scored this gorgeous tana lawn, Liberty style fabric at the Malvern quilt festival and I just knew…

(It was £12/m and you can buy it online from Stitchfabrics).

The pattern is  pdf download and it doesn’t take to long to stick all the pages together.

I did size 36″ chest and if fits perfectly.  Maybe if I used a more stretchy fabric I could have made a 34″ but I like to be able to move my arm freely.  The construction is very simply and clever, I loved the raglan style sleeves! (no fiddly inset sleeves… ahem…)

The instructions are in English too but the only thing I would say is … there aren’t many of them… it’s not hard, but if this is your first top you might want to check out a few more detailed instructions.

Or you can wing it.  Like I did when the directions simply said ‘add bias binding to the neckline’.

Let’s not look too closely.

So there you have it, a perfect English summer top.

Tea, anyone?

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