French Girl Chic

 I have noticed that several French influencers I follow on instagram were posting pictures wearing what honestly looked like dresses, tops, etc. made from tablecloths. As in the Battenberg linen/cotten tablecloths everyone had years ago. They looked pretty cute, so when a friend gave me a couple tablecloths from her mom who had passed away, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to join in. 

I had a large round tablecloth to work with and a smaller square one. From the round one I was able to cut out this vest-style top, using Butterick 7027. It took a little finagling to get the hem right, since I wanted to use the hem of the round tablecloth, but the biggest challenge was the fit. I finally concluded  this pattern is not the one for me. It was way too wide in the shoulders and badly gapped in the front of the armholes. To get the fit right, I would have had to completely rework the entire pattern, which doesn’t seem worth it to me when I have other patterns that I could modify and would work better with my body shape. I have seen other sewists make this pattern and it looks great on them, it’s just not fun or me. I can and will definitely wear this too, since I like how it turned out, but I think I’ll pass the pattern along… 

However, I then made a top from the square tablecloth using Simplicity 3141, and I’m so pleased with it! I again used the tablecloth’s hem as mine, and while I had some trouble lining up the back (if it doesn’t work after three tries of installing the zipper, call it good enough), I think this pattern showcases the the design really well.