Tencel Twill Ruby Top

Phew! I have emerged from mask-making purgatory to sew for myself again, just in time for Me Made May. As you may know if you read this blog regularly, I’m not really big into sewing for others unless it’s a gift that I’ve conceived of and chosen to make. I like to sew things that I want to sew. (This seems redundant, but for lots of people they are totally happy to sew things at the request of others!) So when I finished the 75th mask on Wednesday afternoon, did I take a break from sewing that evening? Of COURSE not! Instead, I jumped right in to sewing this Tessuti Ruby top that I’d already cut out about a week ago!

I bought this pattern basically a year ago, in May of 2019. Me Made May last year made me realize that one of the gaps in my wardrobe was comfortable, work-appropriate shirts that looked professional but still fit my style and were suitable to play bass/cello in. I posted a list of nine patterns on Instagram that I wanted to try out, and bought a few of those patterns at the time. They were: 1) Tessuti Ruby Top, 2) Jalie 3245, 3) Charlotte Kan Pocket-T, 4) Tessuti Mandy Boat Tee, 5) Sew Liberated Strata Top, 6) Tessuti Isla Top, 7) Ready to Sew Jude Blouse, 8) Pattern Fantastique Calyx Smock, and 9) Sew House Seven Merlo Tee. It’s honestly good that I didn’t rush out and make all of them at that time, because in retrospect I would eliminate some of them from my list based on my developing sense of my style. I never made the Jalie, but I think it’s too casual for how I want to dress now. I’m still interested in the Charlotte Kan Pocket-T, because I think it could be a great looser-fitting woven t-shirt staple. I’ve made the Grainline Scout before but find the fit is not what I want for the level of activity I usually have while working. I’ve never made the Mandy Boat Tee (which is silly considering it’s a free pattern and I’ve already downloaded it!) but I still want to. I made the Strata but never blogged about it, you can see it here on Instagram. I don’t regret making it, but a year on, I don’t wear the shirt that much. I think it’s the shape of the sleeves – I often layer with cardigans, and I find it bunches up a lot under cardigans due to how its overall shape, and that makes me not reach for it in my closet. I can see myself wearing it out and about in warmer months when I don’t need to layer, but I work in a basement classroom so it doesn’t suit my work environment very well. I never made the Isla, and I don’t think the batwing shape is a great thing for me – cut-on sleeves or dolman don’t tend to be my favourite thing, so I’m going to eliminate that one from the list. I don’t think the Jude is my style anymore, so I’m not going to try it either! Same with the Calyx. The Merlo Field Tee, I bought the pattern and printed it but never assembled it. It’s a pattern I’m still interested in, so I should make an effort to assemble it and try it out! I think since I already own that one, I should prioritize making it and the Mandy. And that brings us around to the first pattern I had on the list, the Ruby!

I bought the Ruby top pattern around the time I made the original post with the nine patterns, but never made it. I have been looking through my lined up project bins, and noticed that it was in there, PDF printed but unassembled, with some tencel twill remnants from when I made this Peppermint peplum top hack. I assembled the PDF, and then cut it out and did the teeny bit of interfacing it required prior to starting mask-a-palooza, and was looking forward to returning to it. It only took an evening to sew up, since I used my serger for all the finishings. I sewed a size 10 (my measurements are 37″/29″/39 3/4″), and I’m happy with my size choice. It’s very loose aside from the neck area, so I think it’s pretty forgiving in terms of fit, especially since the arm holes are designed to expose the shoulder quite a bit (an element which drew me to the pattern in the first place). It has a keyhole back, which ended up being the first time I ever made a thread loop for a button. It was way easier and less finicky than I expected, so I will not avoid them in the future!

The only thing I would change next time I make the Ruby is the method of finishing the neck and armholes. It’s a nice little bias binding that you wrap around the edges and stitch down (instead of flipping it completely to the inside), but I find that it makes the armholes (the neck was fine) stand up a little bit. It’s not that noticeable in these photos, and on the garment it’s not annoying enough to me to pull it out and change it, but I think I’ll draft an all-in-one facing when I return to the pattern. It’ll just look nicer and not be as fussy. I think this fabric was a lovely choice for this pattern, so kudos to past-Megan for that decision. I think also the black will be great for work situations (if I ever see my students in person again *waaaahhh*), and go with lots of different coloured bottoms! This is a win in terms of filling the wardrobe hole I noticed a year ago!

I’m taking a little hiatus from mask-making while I wait for some pre-made bias tape to arrive – heck NO am I spending another four full days making 150 yards of straight-grain double fold tape! The repetitive rhythmic nature of the mask-making made me crave a return to paper piecing, though. I think progress on my elephant is in my immediate future! I made a Google Doc of potential birthday gift ideas to give to my mum and sister (my birthday was a couple weeks ago) and my sister got me the extra 3 yards of the fabric I planned to use for backing for the elephant (which I bought an insufficient amount of before I realized I was going to add borders to make the quilt queen-sized). So I’m feeling excited that I have all of the supplies I need to finish it if I complete the elephant block!