Bohemian Wrap-sody"

Tops with Boho flair:


Here's my take on these empire waist tops:




Bohemian "Unwrap"sody


What? A belt instead of an empire waist casing?

Alternatives to the empire waist style!

Spiegel's Silk Blouson


LaBelle


Laundry by Sagal


Lepore


Have you tried something that looked enticing from the cover or packaging and discover along the way, that you were misled?

Pattern Description
"Misses' Tops nad Tunics: Tops and tunics have raglan sleeves, waistline elastic casings and ribbon bow. I sewed View B whose sleeves contain elastic casings at the wrists. The artwork on the envelope pattern enticed me to purchase at a Joann's sale some time ago.

The last time I wore an empire waist top was when I was pregnant five years ago. I sewed several maternity McCall's empire waist tops that had the back ties. They were very trendy looking for mommies-to-be! Although I really like the boho look of this top, I wish I could confidently wear the empire waist as I did before and during pregnancy. Being honest with myself, I decided to skip the empire waist look and pursue an alternative look.

I found some ideas
Shelli Sagal's Printed Jersey Dress at Nordy's (check out that retro hair!)

La Belle's Floral Charmeuse Dress at Macy's

Sizing
Misses' XS-S-MED. I sewed a medium. The top billowed out (tent style) without the empire waist elastic.

Fabric Used
A shiny and silky polyester from Joann's. Not quite charmeuse? Although it easy to work with, it can slightly fray (some thin threads protruding wildly!) I sewed 1/4" hems before turning 1/2" under to sew the neck and wrist casings.

What did you like or dislike about the pattern?

Likes
*Ease of construction
*Pieces for View B consited of the front, back and sleeve.
*The directions were easy to follow, although I somewhere switched the order of construction.
*Could be easily be adjusted to be a dress

Wishes
* Wish I could wear the empire style as well as the models.

Pattern alterations/modifications
* Omitted the empire waist casing.
* Created threaded belt hoops and a tie belt
* Cut neckline elastic to size XS on the elastic guide
* Sewed the sleeves to the fronts and back before sewing the sleeve and side seams as instructed
* Sewed the sleeves together and continued with the side seams

Conclusion
This pattern is definitely a very easy top to sew and is a wonderful and gratifying diversion from more complex projects!

This is a top that could be made up easily in one evening. Just a change of sleeves, embellishments and fabric creates endless daytime and evening styles!

* As I was surfing the Simplicity website, I found Simplicity's basic boho top, 4177 which probably would have worked better for me!