Thank you for the well wishes! I’m doing much much better, though I’m operating on four hours of sleep because K had a nightmare last night. Poor thing. Anyway, it all turned out just fine and I have some handmade clothes to share with you.

The very cool Kristin of Skirt as Top offered up a free pattern, and of course I couldn’t pass up a chance to try out her scoop top. That Kristin, she’s so good.

This is such a fast and satisfying project, I think everyone should have a scoop top in their wardrobe. It’s a very flattering cut too. In the How To Train A Dragon book series, there’s a character named Big-Boobied Bertha (the fearsome leader of the viking tribe Bog Burglars with a sassy daughter named Camicazi), and I can relate to Bertha on many levels. What this means is that I need v-necks and wide scoop necklines to avoid looking like I’m trying to smuggle ostrich eggs out of the country, so this top is perfect for my body-type.

I did end up cutting the back piece crooked, so the stripes perfectly match on one side and are completely off on the other as you can see above. C’est la vie.

I actually used this same exquisite knit for a self-drafted dolman sleeve top for K many months ago. It was a major fail, and she never wore it. Such a shame, this stuff is nice. Whisper thin with lovely embroidered details. Had I been brave enough to make clothes for myself back then, I would have kept all the fabric for myself. It’s from here, and I wish I had bought more when it was on mega-sale.

My hem got a little wavy, but I like it – it looks intentional to me. I’m loving this hi-lo hem, and I believe this is the first item I’ve made for myself that I wholeheartedly love. This is definitely coming with me to Michigan.

This was my muslin version. I love the stripey detail of the neckline a lot. I initially added about half an inch all around thinking the original size would be too small for me. I think this fuschia version is a touch too big, and the shoulder slips off in a sloppy-not-sexy way. I did get a lot of compliments on it though. I don’t wear bright colors like this too often, and it was fun. For the non-muslin version, I stuck to the original size.

This jersey stretched out a ton too, so you can really see the dramatic difference in length. I think I’ll make the length somewhere between the two for my third (oh yes, there will be a third) scoop top.

Here they are, side by side. Thanks for the awesome pattern, Kristin!