Seamwork Astoria - The Rainbow Version

Hello there lovely humans! I hope you are doing well. I feel so happy and I have so much energy... you wanna know why? I think it's finally spring in Stockholm! 

The birds are chirping and the sun comes out almost every day. And it's not super cold anymore. When I wake up in the mornings (which is quite early) there's actual light shining through the windows... amazing. What a time to be alive! :D

To celebrate the spring in all it's glory today I thought we could take a look at my latest make: The crazy colourful spring rainbow top I made. 

I wanted to make something colourful and fun to announce the end of the cold and dark season and say hello to the bright and fun season! This make makes me smile when I wear it, or even when I see it peaking out in my closet... Love it! 

The pattern I used for this top is the Seamwork Astoria. I'm sure you have heard of it or even made it before. This is a pattern I have been wanting to try for a while. I love the cropped design and I thought it would be a great staple in my wardrobe since I wear a lot of skirts and dresses. The Astoria is also one of my #2019MakeNine so now I can cross that off my list as well! Win!

I asked for your opinion about this fabric on my insta stories a few weeks ago. Most thought it was cool and not too crazy for an Astoria. I agree! It is a bit crazy but not in a bad way and I think it works amazing for this pattern!

The fabric is leftover/overstock from the brand where I work as a garment technician. Indiesew has a great article about overstock fabric, read it here if you want to know more or you are unfamiliar with the term. I always try to find sustainable options in my professional work and when I'm sewing for myself is no exception. This is one of those makes. I love the colours and this is actually an organic cotton jersey on top of being overstock. Even better! The colours make me really happy and I like how the top pairs so well with a black skirt as I styled it in these photos. 

I made a straight up size S. The only alteration I made was to add a cuff to the end of the sleeves. If you have read about my sewing previously you will know I have long arms and legs. So this is a standard alteration for me. I wanted to just make the actual sleeve pattern longer but my fabric piece was too small so I had to add a cuff instead. I actually like how it turned out this way and it's very comfortable. 

The fit is quite good I think. The only thing I'm thinking about altering for my next one is the sleeve. It's a bit short for me as I said and also a bit tight. It looks good with a tight sleeve but I think it would be more comfortable if it had a bit more room. Might make that change for future Astorias. The waistband is a bit loose on my waist too but I don't think I will alter it. It sits comfortably and that's quite important to me. Over all I'm happy with the fit! I didn't look at the instructions that much but I think they were good from what I gathered, it's quite a simple make so it would be very hard to screw up the instructions :) 

I made the neckband a bit shorter than the pattern piece and I could've made it even shorter considering the little gaping at the shoulder. Oh, well. For next time maybe. It always depends on the fabric too. This fabric is extremely stretchy so I could've shortened the neckband quite a bit but for another fabric quality it might not have worked.

I will definitely be making more Astorias! I want to make one out of a gorgeous ponte for example. I don't have a fabric like that in my stash though so that might not happen. Why? Because if my fabric stash downsizing project is going to work I will have to sew more than I purchase. Not purchase more than I sew like most sewists do, am I right? ;)

This was a great stash busting project. I had just enough fabric to make an Astoria and I think this fabric really suited this pattern. What do you think of the Astoria pattern and this fabric? Are you making any crazy colourful garments too, to celebrate spring? :) Let me know in the comments.

Have a wonderful day everyone and I will talk to you soon <3

♥   ♥   ♥

Josefine

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