I visited Tessuti Fabrics when we were in Sydney a few months back. What a wonderful store! I bought the Alice top pattern while I was there, and have made two so far. It is a really nice, quick pattern. I have not tried a dress version yet. Here is my version in a wonderfully drape-y crepe de chine from Blackbird Fabrics. It was a little fiddly to work with, I think I ended up using a 5/8″ seam allowance for the sleeves instead of 3/8″ to catch all the layers of fabric (understitching changed the sizes pretty considerably).
Very fun and swishy! I think I can dress this up or down. I also finished the sleeve seams and yoke seams with bias tape so nothing would unravel. I added some side slits, although I wish I would have made them even bigger. Just a quick baby hem since the fabric was so slippery.
I also made a Tessuti Tokyo Jacket. I got this very delicate and floaty silk/cotton from The Fabric Store in Aukland. I french seamed everything, and its a bit bulky at the arm pit, as the pattern hinted it would be, but I didn’t want “overlocked (don’t have a serger)” seams hanging out. I omitted the pockets for a more floaty finish. I enjoyed the cuff technique, I was very skeptical at first but when I finished the first one I thought, “HOW CLEVER!”
all photos by Leah Vautar.
emilyWools 