Returning to Bettine

I've written before about my Bettine disappointment; I love pretty much every version I've ever seen apart from my own attempts. When I mentioned this to one of the lovely ladies at Tilly's stand in March, she asked if I'd perhaps made it in too large a size. I didn't think I had, but it stuck in my mind and I wondered if perhaps there was still a way that Bettine and I could be friends.

When we booked a last-minute trip to Tenerife in April I decided that it was now or never. I'd had this cotton lawn in my stash for months and decided that it was time to make a smaller version. This time I made a Tilly size 2 - the last having been a 4 because I decided I wanted it to be REALLY comfy, and really comfy means 2 sizes up, right?

Sigh.

Still need to buy a belt!!!

Needless to say, it's a lot better than my previous attempts. I actually like the fabric, it doesn't look like hospital scrubs, and it's about the right size. I'm obsessed with the pockets, though I'm still not overly keen on the neckline, particularly with this fabric which is way too busy for a necklace. I think I'll be making a chambray version in the near future, but any patterned versions will probably have a boat neck.

I'm going to replace the neck binding with a facing as some point, as it doesn't quite sit flat. Although loads of people seem to dislike the tulip shape of the skirt, I think it's pretty cute. That said, I do have the legs of a rugby player, so I will probably widen it around the hem next time, as I feel like it should be the ultimate comfy dress, and it's a little restrictive when I'm walking at the moment.

Anyway, I'm pleased to finally have a Bettine I can wear! I think this one will be good for barbecues once the sun comes back out.

Molly, Molly, Molly...

We've probably established by now that I'm kind of averse to buying any more patterns. I quite like hacking things I already have, and although I've only been sewing for a few months I've already lost patience with the whole PDF process, especially now that I'm back in work and sewing time is at a premium.

I had to make an exception, though, when I bought the Crafternoon edition of Mollie Makes and discovered that they'd included a free PDF of the Sew Over It Molly top. This is again quite a popular pattern that I'd resisted buying mainly because it's only available as part of a £20 ebook (My City Break), and I wasn't hugely keen on any of the other patterns. As I now had a free copy, it'd just be rude not to make one, right?

I've noted from a few people's Mollies that I only really like the top in stripes. I already have Tilly's Coco and Agnes patterns, which seem to be a better fit, however the way the stripes join around the shoulders is COOL. I decided to buy SOI's peaches and cream fabric to make the Molly. I also decided I could make it out of 1m...

Alas, sometimes my laziness and penny-pinching come back to bite me. First off the sleeves are too short (and I already have pretty short arms), because in spite of my wasted youth as a Tetris addict, there really wasn't any way that I was going to get this out of a metre. Secondly, I obviously didn't pre-wash the fabric, so while the sleeves were the only thing not-quite-right when I first wore this, it's now just too small. I've got away without pre-washing so many times now that I'd gotten really complacent, but I've really paid for it this time :( Looking at the photos it doesn't actually look that bad, so it might just be that I'm used to sleeves being really long on me. I did try stretching it out after its last wash, so maybe that helped a little - it's still not ideal, though.


I was actually a bit disappointed with the fabric when it first arrived, as I'd just been expecting something a bit softer, and it had a strange sort of sheen to it. The colour's not what I expected either, and changes a lot depending on the light - my partner actually referred to it as yellow at one point. It actually turned out to be really comfortable to wear, but then it really did shrink a lot in the wash. I know that's my fault, but I think my expectations of SOI might have been a bit high just because they come so highly recommended.

I'll make this again, just as soon as I find some striped fabric that I'm head-over-heels with. Aside from ordering more fabric and pre-washing it, I'll also top-stitch the shoulder and armhole-sleeve seams before I sew the side seams, as they're really conspicuous, and having them flop around under there really annoyed me on the couple of occasions that I did wear it.

I do really like the pattern, and it was quite a speedy make, so in spite of this make being a bit of a disaster, the Molly top probably be my go-to stripy top pattern in the future.