Fabric Spark is giving a paper copy of this pattern away today! They provided the fabric for this top. All opinions are honest and my own. Thanks for supporting the shops that support this blog!

Step 1) Procure gorgeous super-soft Loominous fabric. Step 2) Mix in your (favorite) top pattern. Step 3) Sew for 2 hours. Step 4) Remove from sewing machine. Step 5) Press and wear. (Maybe 3 days in a row!Best. Shirt. Ever. Really! I am IN LOVE with this Loominous fabric from Anna Maria Horner. And I got to use my favorite top pattern The Bess Top from Imagine Gnats. The fabric is Loominous from Anna Maria Horner – yarn dyed lightweight woven cotton, it has an amazing hand and drapes so well. Plus, it’s called Big Love, the Primary colourway – how could you not love it?

I met Daryl from Fabric Spark for coffee a few months ago. She is super inspiring to talk to and I always come away ready to check out amazing bloggers and pattern makers I haven’t heard of yet. So good! Anyhow, We started chatting about working together on an apparel project and I immediately thought back to the Loominous fabric I’d seen in her shop when I picked out my Monthly Sparks bundle.

I had recently made a muslin for the Bess Top pattern from Imagine Gnats. (Imagine Gnats makes my most favorite patterns ever!) So I suggested that maybe we could make a Loominous Bess Top. Lucky for me she agreed! Fabric Spark now stocks the Bess Top, the Alder Skirt and the Roly Poly (children’s Pinafore). Hooray!

Bess Top pattern by Imagine Gnats

Imagine Gnats patterns make wearable, comfortable clothing that’s not too fancy. They all have little design elements that look great and are really simple to sew. And they come in a really wide range of sizes. (I have made the Alder skirt before as well, in fact I wear it the most out of all my handmade clothing!)

The Bess Top (or tunic or dress without pockets) is made from only two pattern pieces. The back curves over the front and *bam* you’ve got sleeves, without even knowing it! Rachel has taught me to use jersey strips to finish the neckline, hem and sleeves and it has changed my life – literally! I’ve been using the technique on lots of other projects recently.

This top is a size 6 throughout, with a size 4 through the bust area. I used the lower neckline and replaced the shoulder pleat with pretty gathers. I don’t hate the pleat, in fact I love it. Unfortunatly, the pleat doesn’t love me, the gathers soften the detail by spreading the extra fabric along the whole seam. Much better!

I’ll do a proper pattern review when I post about the next Bess I’m making, from nani IRO double-gauze. I managed to order some from Fabric Spark before this print (Jewel Song Pocho) went out of stock, but she has others and some Ellen Baker double gauze in stock as well. Everyone is talking about double gauze – really, everyone!– so I figured it was high time I got my hands on some. My first impressions are great, and I’m excited to see how it drapes in a top. Fingers crossed it will be amazing!

 Loominous by Anna Maria Horner

When I started working with this fabric I asked for a bit of extra so I could match the main stripesat the sides of the top. In the end it doesn’t look exactly matched because of the ikat-esque “stripes”, but I did end up using about 1/2 yard more than the pattern calls for to match the main sections. Ordering a little extra will save you lots of time and headache!

The bold patterns in this fabric make placement really important. I quickly searched online and found this top by Miss Make – wide strip in the center front – perfect. The internet is such a useful thing! The back of this top is centred on the two large orange stripes, mainly because I was trying to conserve fabric so I could make a little something for one of my girls with the leftovers!

If this Loominous print is not your favorite – Fabric Spark stocks 5 to choose from!

Hooray! Fabric Spark is giving away a paper copy of the Bess Top pattern today!

This giveaway is open to International readers, from August 28 – September 3, 2015 at midnight EST. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, just use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!

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