The Lisa Dress as a Top
January 28, 2015
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.
Gorgeous!!!! Moved to the top of my sew list ☺️
Thanks Deb!
Love this look!
Thanks Madeleine. It's become a fave of mine too.
Looks awesome, Lisa. I really need to try sewing with Linen like this 🙂
Thanks Mel. Oh gosh, I would LOVE to see what beauty you'd make with this kind of linen!
This is just my kind of top really. Perfect !
Love it! Fresh, feminine and funky! 🙂
So gorgeous! Think I just have to make one. X
when i first saw this pattern, i thought, "if i purchase this pattern, i'd like to shorten it to tunic length." but, wow! i love what you did with this!!! i was wondering if you just "cut" the pattern until you got your desired length or if you made any other alterations? thanks! loooooove it!
Hi Shannon (and so sorry for the late reply!). I just shortened it to my preferred length, measuring up from the hemline, and that was it!