The Lisa Dress as a Top

I have worn my Lisa Dress hard since sewing it last October. Yah, this Lisa LOVES that Lisa for sure. It’s an easy wear and perfect for the hottest summer days when linen does that happy, cooling, comfy thing that only linen can do.
 
After making my original navy version I got to thinking about a second version in a crisp, fresh white. In the planning phase, that pre-sewing stream of conciousness thing happened. I knew it would be pretty sheer (we recommend a lightweight linen for this dress) so it would probably come in handy as a beach cover up. Unless I lined it. Or I could wear a slip underneath. But the very beauty of this dress is in how loose, light and comfortable it is so those last two options were both rejected. And really, how much did I need /really want/want to sew a beach dress? And so, because I do love a bit of gather and ruffle (thanks again Pinterest), I decided to try the Lisa Dress as a top.
The fabric is a beautiful lightweight vintage wash white linen (currently out of stock in Surry Hills and Chatswood but there’s a wee bit left in Melbourne) from our new and popular Hartford range (white and black are due back in stock within the fortnight and more colours next week). I played around with the length until I found my happy place and in the end shortened it by around 40cm. There are no pockets with this length but if you made a more tunic style you could definitely include these.

Freshly ironed, this top (and the dress version too) can look quite full so you need to let the linen do what linen does best and wear it ’til it gets all lovely and flat and crushed and wrinkled. The more you wash it, the softer it gets, the better it looks and that’s what I love so much about linen.

I love this back ruffle too…

If you want to remove some of the fullness, I’d recommend taking the skirt in at the side seams as well.