Vintage Style Wrap Tops (Studio Faro Retro Wrap)

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In a quest to add some more genuinely useful pieces into my wardrobe, I decided to give the Studio Faro Retro Wrap pattern puzzle a go. If you're not familiar with Studio Faro, it provides really useful instructions on how to draft particular designs and it's a really great resource for anyone interested in pattern making. This design is based off a vintage Advance 8190 pattern for a women's 2-way wrap blouse, and is delightfully easy to make.

It's been a while since I've done any hardcore pattern drafting, so this was a great way to dip my toe back in the water, and by that I mean, get out my pattern making supplies and literally just copy out the diagram Anita kindly provides, as there is no actual pattern drafting required for this. Woohoo!

Depending on your sizing, you might need to tweak the measurements, but a wrap top in a stretch fabric is going to be pretty forgiving, so I just needed to take in the sleeves a little and I was good to go. Since it's quite a weird looking all-in-one pattern, I'd suggest making a mock up first if you think you'll need changes, as it can be quite hard to visualise where everything goes on paper.

I had some slinky jersey left over from various projects where I clearly massively over-estimated how much fabric I'd be using - this will likely require about 2m, as it does involve quite a large pattern piece cut on the fold.

I used some blue fabric left from my Simplicity 8342 RAF Pinup Dress (woah that takes me back) as well as my Giraffe Neck Dress, and some black fabric left over from various projects including this other wrap top - I also have the same in red that I do plan on using for this as well, but I haven't got round to it yet. Yup, when I like a fabric, I just keep buying it in all the colours.

This fabric doesn't fray, so I didn't bother with any seam finishings, which is probably part of the reason why this was such a refreshingly easy project to make. Once I'd got the pattern drawn out, it only took a couple of hours per top - it might take you less time, as I'm aware I'm not the fastest sewist in the world.

I made the waist tie about 5" wide (so about 11" total with the fold and seam allowances) and as long as my fabric scraps would allow, which, in the case of the blue top, was barely longer than the waist measurement, but so long as it's tucked into something, I feel I can get away with it.

(By the way, the top is worn with McCall's M7726* trousers in blue check wool* provided to me by Minerva* in exchange for a post on a different project - blog post coming soonish maybe, hopefully!)

I had originally thought I'd only be wearing the top with the v-neck and wrap detail at the front, but I actually like how it looks when it's flipped over, too. I found it was harder to ensure the neckline stayed where I wanted it to, and there is a little more bulk at the waist this way round, but it gives a very chic appearance and really does look like a completely different top. Which means I got 4 new pieces for the price of 2! Yay!

(Reusing photos from last week's post - check that out if you're interested in the trousers!)

I'm really happy with how these turned out, and so glad I finally got around to making them. I've been wanting to make more casual-chic items for a while, and I guess it was good timing, as it looks like my more glamorous cocktail dresses aren't going to be getting much use for the time being (not that that's going to stop me from making them). And on that happy note, that's it from me this week! Tune in next week for more casual chic fun!