Last summer when I headed into New York City for some fabric shopping (you can read about that here), I picked up this leopard print knit at New York Elegant Fabrics (some of my favorite fabric shops in NY are listed here) with the intent of making the Talulah Dress from Stylearc patterns for myself. I thought the pattern and the print would be a great transition piece. Well, I never got to it this past fall, but after the work of filming, editing and posting a blog times times a week for the Make Your Daughter a Dress series for 6 weeks, I needed an instant gratification project for myself. I put the dress pattern together and went to lay it out on the fabric when disaster struck! Did you know that knits can be 45 inches wide? I had never seen one before, but my lovely leopard print was exactly that. The fabric was on a long roll when I purchased it so my eye didn't register that it wasn't wider. I am pretty good at squeaking by with not enough fabric, but there was no way with this one, so my dress needed to turn into a top instead. I started combing through my Summer Sewing and Things I Want to Sew Pinterest Boards for inspiration, and I spotted the Newport Top from Itch to Stitch.
I was looking for a top that again would be a good transition piece. April, May and June can all be times when I still need a long sleeve top here in New England. I liked the boat neck of the Newport top and the A-line shape seemed to give the top a little style while still being something that I could just throw on with a pair of jeans and look put together. This was my first Itch to Stitch pattern. It went together quite easily. The instructions were simple but thorough. I added an inch to the length just to make sure it wasn't too cropped, but I didn't need it. My only criticism - I think the pattern runs large. According to the measurement chart, I am a 4 in the shoulders and a 6 in the waist and hips. So I cut a 4 grading out to a 6. After trying it on, I ended up taking 1 and 1/2 inches off both sides. I do think that some of that is personal preference on my part - I probably wanted less of a swing shape than the pattern was designed with. However, in looking at where the shoulder connects to the armhole, it was big and I could have cut a 2. I also removed 2 inches from the sleeve length. This put the sleeves up at bracelet length, or a long 3/4 length. If I had cut the 2, the long sleeves would have probably been the right length for long sleeves. Overall, I am really happy with my Newport top. It has what I look for in a pattern - very wearable that fits my lifestyle, but has a few extra details because I am all about the details!