I recently came across this pattern at Walmart, and I immediately knew it was a winner. (Not available online) My goal lately has been to make things that are more wearable in everyday life.  I usually end up sewing fancy dresses, but let’s face it, I’m a stay at home mom and those don’t really fit in my daily momiform.  So when I saw that pattern, I fell in love because it’s wearable, flattering, and breezy for these ridiculously hot summer days. #winning

To make this top, you will need:

• Pattern
• about 2 yards of fabric
• bias tape
• rotary cutter
• cutting mat
• sewing machine
• matching thread

I got my hedge hog fabric at the swap meet in Westminster, California that I knew would look great as a blouse.  So I set to work.  This thing I love about patterns is that after the first time you use them, the pieces are already ready to go for the next project.  Here’s what the pattern pieces looked like for this piece.

I opted to go for the longer length.  Rather than adding the collar, I decided to make the neckline pop by using bias tape. With this in mind, here’s what the fabric pieces looked like after being cut with my rotary cutter.

As I began sewing the pieces together, I realized how quickly this fabric was to fray.

To be sure that the blouse didn’t fall apart, I folded over the excess fabric after sewing my seams, and zigzag stitched them.  There are a few ways to finish your edges.  I just thought this seemed pretty sturdy.  Of course, if you have a serger, it will do this work for you.  I also used hem tape on the bottom hem of the blouse and the sleeve hems.  Once it was ironed in, I flipped it up one more time before sewing.  This makes the end of the fabric inaccessible, so fraying should be nearly impossible.

The pattern calls for a button on the back of the neckline.  Instead, I extended my bias tape to make ties.

I really love how it turned out!

Top: Made by me!
Pants: Paige
Shoes: Originally BCBG, but very similar here
Clutch: Similar
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