June has been filled with sewing and I made Jalie Marie Claude top as my Minerva Brand Ambassador make. Both the pattern and the fabric was given to me for this review as one of their brand ambassadors

Each version I made had the thumb hole sleeve finish. It was pretty cold in Orange on the weekend we visited it earlier in June. I had to run out really quickly to take these photos and then run back and get changed.

The waffle knit fabric is brilliant for knit top like this style. Each morning in Orange it was about 3C and can reach 7C during the day. The waffle knit was perfect as my base layering for our very mild Winter. Our Winter is mild compared to the Northern hemisphere countries. But cold is cold in anyone’s language.

Did you take part in this month’s Top Idol Sewing Challenge?

On this viscose version, I used a closer overlocked stitch. I also cut away 1.5cm out the bodice pieces because I’ll be wearing this top against my body and not as a jumper.

I think I didn’t use this fabric when I originally bought it because it creases easily but when I wear it against my skin the creases are not as noticeable. Hmm. I’m still in two minds about wearing this version but I will wear it for this season and see how I like it or not.
On this version I used 4 thread overlocking stitch because of the fabric weight and how weak this fabric gets when it’s in the wash.

All the notches on the pattern make this pattern easy to sew are there, thanks to Jalie’s good drafting.

As I overlocked this hem, I pushed the fabric into the stitching so the overlocking didn’t bag out or stretch out the fabric. I’ve also used the coverstitch machine for the hem.

Then there’s the test version I made using a stripe knit fabric that looks like I knitted it.

I would love to knit so when I see a fabric that looks like it was hand knitted, I do try working with it.

This fabric is a very open knit was overlocking was a must do.

The joy challenge was lining up the stripes and they were so easy to do. When you look closely at the fabric, this is strip matching ‘101’. Great for beginners.

This gold spot slinky knit did not keep me warm in Orange but this was a great top to wear for dinners. It’s an indoor Winter top.

This fine knit fabric has been waiting to be sewn up this fabric for years. I bought this fabric locally before covid so I can safely say I’ve had this in my stash for 3 years.

On this version, I used a closer overlocked stitch. I also cut away 1.5cm out the bodice pieces because I’ll be wearing this top against my body and not as a jumper. You can see how the neckline sit closer to my neck on this version.

Now this fabric was a bit tricky to work out. Granted it has less stretch than the other fabrics so I used the larger size. I wasn’t sure how the neckline would work or now the thumb hole cuff would work.

With lots of hesitation I made sure the stretch of this fabric was definitely across the body. I didn’t have any leftover fabric as this was a remnant from a local fabric shop.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to take part in #Topidol at minerva this month.

Thanks to @sewing_in_spain @suestoney @ohsewcathy for hosting #junejourney this month for #magamsewalong. I was also able to enter these top for the challenge, recently retired Lou of @sewmuchtodesign runs as #mymakesforthemonth.