Jily ready to sew

It feels odd to be posting about a summer top in the winter. Well to be honest it feels weird to be posting about sewing clothes at all as it's not something I've done much of at all this year. It's been quilts all the way! I did manage to sew this top in time for the summer though and I'm very glad I did.  It's the Jily top from Ready to Sew and I saw a few gorgeous versions of this on instagram during Me Made May which inspired me to try it out. I've just pasted in my review from Pattern Review below but added in a tutorial I just found on Megan Nielsen's website which I think would help with making the tie as neat and clean a finish as possible. 

Pattern Description: Jily is fitted at the shoulders and falls into a relaxed fit below the bust. Wear it casual during the day paired with a high waisted jean or make it in a beautiful crêpe for an elegant evening out.

Pattern Sizing: 32 - 46

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. Though I think to get a really good finish you would either need to have some experience of sewing curves or look at an extra tutorial. I took the top to work on at a sewing session at Ray Stitch and the tutor there reminded me about the importance of notching curves and really helped me to get a clean finish on the ties. There is a tutorial on the Ready to Sew website for doing the all in one facing but I think it would be helpful to have one for notching the ties as well. All it says on the instructions is to 'clip and trim where needed' which when it is labelled as a beginner pattern doesn't seem like enough direction to me somehow.

close-up which kind of shows the facing (I meant to take some in progress shots but forgot!)

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? It fits me nicely under the arm and I love the tie front and the shape of it - perfect for summer!

Fabric Used: This was a fabric I bought in Copenhagen about 5 years ago. It is a very lightweight cotton. I only had 1.47 metres in length and 65 cm in width so it was a tight squeeze!

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I didn't make any changes to the pattern at all except having to employ some patchworking skills in order to fit all the pattern pieces out of a very narrow piece of fabric! My sizing put me in 36 for bust, 38 for waist and 40 for full hip but it looked like quite a loose fit so I risked it with a straight 36 and it worked out fine.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Oh yes I will definitely sew this again. I'd like to try the version without the tie as well. I would recommend it to others but would say if you're not experienced sewing curves and points maybe check out an extra tutorial to help with getting the ties nice and neat looking such as this tutorial on Megan Nielsen.

Conclusion: I'm really pleased with how this top turned out. I've looked back and I think this was the only garment I sewed this year so I'm glad it's a good one! I wore it loads in the summer and will again next summer.