Do you have a pattern that you’ve had for a long time (years) and just can’t decide if you want to make it or not? That’s how the Matcha Top by Sew Liberated has been for me. I really love the boho vibes, the neckline/collar, and the shape, but something about it has just made me go back and forth on if I should make it or not.
I got this beautiful 6oz linen from Blackbird Fabrics and didn’t really have a solid plan for it, so I decided that I would finally make the Matcha Top. The linen is midweight, so it was pretty warm to wear on a summer afternoon. I think it will get a lot more wear during fall.
The one thing that kind of bothered me when I was finished was the sleeves. I had lengthened them to hit in the right spot on me, but it just didn’t look right. So, I cut them shorter and they’re better now, but they hit right in my elbow and get all creasy, as you can see. I would cut them shorter, but I’m afraid that might look weird. I may eventually end up taking the sleeves off and making it sleeveless, because I really like all of the sleeveless ones I’ve seen.
Part of the reason I don’t like the sleeves as much is because this fabric is a little too thick. I would definitely make this shirt again, but in a much lighter weight fabric. The ones I see in ikat (cotton) fabric look perfect, and I really should have made it in a ikat instead. Make and learn. 😉
This pattern is really cool, and I wish the shoulder detail stood out a little bit more. There is a pattern piece that you interface and stitch to the top of the shoulder after you sew the bodice pieces together (to cover the shoulder seam), but you can’t really tell in photos. Maybe some embroidery would make it interesting? I don’t know that I’ll do that, but it’s a design detail that gets hidden a little bit if you don’t do something to show it off.
The pattern came together well, and the instructions were pretty clear, but it’s a little more of an intermediate pattern. If you are a beginner who hasn’t sewn a collar, I would try another pattern that has more descriptive illustrations and instructions. I was also ill-prepared for the amount of gathering you have to do for the front part. Holy cow! I doubted myself when I was sewing the collar on because the front gathers made it really challenging (again, probably because the fabric I was using was too heavy), but it all worked out and I think it looks pretty good.
The only adjustments I made were to lengthen the bodice pieces by 1″ and to lower the neckline V 1″ below the top notch. I think the length and neckline both turned out good. Now I just need some cooler temps!
I have a bit of this fabric left over, so you’ll probably see me make something else with it in the future.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, and happy Matcha Top sewing!
“Sew and learn.” Exactly!