Pattern Review – Nani Iro Colourful Cloth Book (D)

Last week, I sewed up this top from a piece of Sorrento Stripe that I had sitting in the stash. My fabric choice was made, quite simply, because it has three features that I find irresistable – it’s linen, it’s striped and it’s (predominantly) black.

The pattern is a variation of ‘D’ from Nani Iro’s Colourful Cloth Book, a gorgeous collection of simple styles for women and girls, with a couple of bag patterns thrown in as well. My fabric piece was considerably smaller and narrower than the recommended meterage, so I shortened both sleeve and overall length to accommodate this. I also decided to leave off the pockets because A) I didn’t have enough fabric and B) getting the perfectly round curve that is pictured would’ve broken my spirit and quite possibly have resulted in yet another UFO being added to the pile.

For the back contrast detail, I just used the reverse side of the fabric.

The sleeves presented my only challenge. The pattern calls for a 2cm seam allowance but because I’d shortened the overall length, I didn’t have much room to play around with. Instead, I chose to bind them with a poly cotton binding which caused them to stick out. Quite a bit. ‘Trumpet-y’ was a word that sprang to mind. To overcome this, I created a pleat and button detail which bought them back in nicely. And thankfully.