Outfit 024 | Sewing Project

As a novice sewist, I still heavily rely on patterns. It is my hope to one day self-draft a design, but for now I'm building up confidence with the help of pros. Up until this project, all of the clothing I've made has been from the bigs of pattern-making: McCall, Butterick, etc. But thanks to the wonderful and active sewing community on Instagram, I found the independent pattern maker Stitch Witch Patterns and made my first piece from a digital pattern: the Atlas Top.

The idea of digital patterns made my palms sweaty. I was nervous about printing to the proper scale and getting the pieces put together correctly. It turns out I apparently had nothing to be afraid of, and I can confidently say that I now love digital patterns. There are still some cons (extra time spent printing and connecting the individual papers + having to work with thicker paper) but these small hassles are heavily outweighed by the pros: the ability to reprint, eliminating the need for shipping, and the opportunity to support small businesses. The pattern was a breeze to print and the instructions were crystal clear (more so than some of the big name patterns I've used in the past).

I chose this pattern after reading about it's simplicity -- I was looking forward to a quick project I could finish in a day, and it did not disappoint. The whole project (from printing to final press) was complete in just one evening, which was so incredibly satisfying. This piece doesn't require a whole lot of fabric or time, and is great to make when you have...impatient tendencies. While it is a fun challenge to take on a huge project and dedicate the work throughout a week, sometimes you just want to see a project start-to-finish in the same day. 

I didn't make any modifications to this pattern. In hindsight it may have been a good idea to line the front piece because I chose a light fabric, but it is still completely wearable as-is. I love the surprise criss-cross on the back -- and because I constructed this top out of a fabric I already had, I ended up accidentally making a great matching set with a skirt I had previously made . For quite possibly the first time ever, I have no trials or tribulations to report, and I'm definitely looking forward to making more versions of this top.

Pattern: The Atlas Top