Fitting Top and Camisole

For this summer, I’ve just made a nice sleeveless dress, but that doesn’t mean that I’m planning to go around with bare arms like, I don’t know, a peasant or even somebody with no health issues, perish the thought!

Instead, at the end of last season I’ve bought a remnant of white ramie / viscose jersey that is a bit too transparent to be decent when worn on its own, but should still give some protection from the sun without being unconfortable in the heat, with the intent to make myself a new top.

Because of the transparency I wasn’t sure whether to actually use it for a top, or just to make camisoles, but with the decency preserved by the dress the choice was made: I had enough fabric for a top, a camisole and maybe something small.

I already have a trusted pattern for the top and camisole, but they still had to be published, so I took care to write down instructions and take step-by-step pictures; maybe the white fabric isn’t the best, but it’s better than nothing, and I can still take better pictures the next time I’ll do another make. They are of course on my pattern webiste: top and camisole.

Since the fabric was bought online as a remnant, I didn’t exactly know what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by how soft it is: it feels like touching a cloud.

This however means that it felt like working with a cloud, and, well, let’s just say I’m happy that both patterns were quite simple and I didn’t have to deal with fiddly bits.

I was also not so pleasantly surprised by the fact that part of the fabric had a few small holes as if the end of the roll had been caught on something; I was able to cut everything around the holes, other than a small bit that I hadn’t noticed and had to be mended. It’s not a big deal, but I suspect it’s a sign that this fabric may not be as sturdy as it could have been, and that there will be more mending in the future as I wear it.

And then, when I had finished the set I was faced with another problem: taking pictures. For one thing, worn on their own they aren’t exactly decent, and then there was the fact that after a week of late spring weather in March, as I was working on summer clothing the temperature dropped and there was even a hint of rain.

I solved this by wearing the new set on top of another set of fitting top and camisole, with matching leggings. Not exactly something I would wear on the regular streets, but good enough for a picture of underwear.

Still, the pictures were taken in quite a hurry, because I wasn’t completely freezing, but still pretty cold.

Anyway, I’m off to find some other piece of summer wear to make, hoping that it will bring proper rain. :)