Tova Top: Plaid Lawn

My 2nd Tova Top from Wiksten  (you can see the 1st here) . The fabric is a sheer Marc Jacobs cotton voile from Mood. The size is a large with no alterations to the size (I'm 5'7 with a 36D chest) I only shortened the sleeves . I underlined it in an also sheer white batiste (scroll down to see the garment from the inside). I love this top. love it! I wasn't so sure about the 1st one I made but I really like it now and wear it often. 

I did the front yoke (?) on the bias and underlined it in the same plaid on the bias.  That was a tough decision and I had to google it but didn't have much luck finding advice on that topic (underlining or even just lining something on the bias and whether the lining should also be on the bias..or not). I did them both bias and love it. It worked great and has been washed several times and the yoke has not gone wonky or stretched out. I used that quilting basting spray stuff to keep my underlined fabric stuck to my outside fabric so it wouldn't shift while sewing.

The top inside out. 

The majority of the top is underlined in batiste. The sleeves are not lined at all and the yoke is underlined in the same plaid.

Below is an embroidery I did ages ago. It's a combination of a black apple drawing and an embroidery pattern (the frame/vines) from Sadie & Oliver on Etsy.

Apple shirt

H&M top on the left (lady bugs) and my version on the right (apples).

I've had this brown lady bug top for ever (Emily wore it and now Ava) and I even have a mushroom version and a white version with cats; all 3 from H&M. I LOVE this silhouette. It's soooo cute on little girls and if you pair it with the right jeans or shorts it's timeless. So I searched for a similar looking pattern and found this one. I think it's pretty close.

*cuckoo clock from Pottery Barn Kids about 5 years ago.

The pattern is McCalls 6388. I only had it starting in size 6 so that is what I made for Ava but it's too big in the neck area (which I have found to be very common from the big pattern companies). It was also WAY to big in the sleeves but I was able to redo those..after I had already sewed one on. I redid the back closer too. I didn't want 3 buttons to close it and an overlap.

*Green sweater is from H&M.

I added a lot of top stitching because it was very plain and looked homemade. It's weird how just little details can make something look store bought vs. homemade (but I guess that's also subjective).  The apple fabric is stuff I bought while in Japan last November.  I bought 3 or 4 meters of this I think. It feels like a voile but with a poly/cotton feel (not in a gross polyester way but I think I can just tell  there is polyester in it and It doesn't wrinkle.) When I worked at Yardage City, the owner would give me lessons on how to tell what's in a fabric by feel and by smell and by smell after you burn some of it. Or what color the flame is while it burns. Most of it went in one ear and out the other since there were SO many things to remember:)...anyway, the bodice part is lined in an off white batiste and no interfacing. I'm really into not interfacing garments lately..I think I abused it too much in the past ..

See how it gapes at the neck? She's wearing a tank top under.

I only had this one green button with a shank so that's what I used!