…A new release from Love Notions Pattern
Be prepared to fall in love with Juliet! The newest pattern from Love Notions is THE perfect top for the summer! I was so excited to test this pattern and I’m sew excited for all of my readers to sew one up! The second I put on my first test version…it got the Sew Mary Mac stamp of approval! (And yes, I have made a total of 8 versions with another one cut out already!)
The Juliet Top is on sale at the release price of $9.50 today, 5/30/23 through 6/5/23. You can use my code MACSEWS10 for an additional 10% off.
The Details
The Juliet Top is another “not-so-basic” basic that is a great addition to any closet. This cute flowy top is such a quick and fun sew, I highly recommend cutting 2 at a time and batch sewing them! On top of that, it’s beginner friendly! This is such a versatile top, wear it alone or use it for layering!
Features
- Yoke Options: Plain, Faux Placket, Pintucked
- 4 Sleeve Options: Sleeveless, Short, Flutter and Long
- Beginner Friendly, especially the plain yoke version
- Color Blocking Friendly! Get Creative!
Sizing and Fit
The Juliet Top is available in sizes XS- 5X. There is a full bust pattern piece included. To get a great fit on the Juliet(and any LN pattern), be sure to take accurate body measurements and use the body measurement and finishing garment measurement charts to select your size.
When selecting your size make sure you choose by using your high bust measurement. If your full bust is 4 or more inches larger than your high bust, you should be using the full bust front piece. Remember that the full bust option adds an additional 2″ to the waist and hip finished garment measurements. Keep this in mind when deciding to grade in/out for your waist and hips. With the amount of ease in the Juliet, you may NOT need to grade out for your hips, but always check the finished measurement chart first!
The Juliet top is designed to be a flowy top with lots of ease. It is designed to hit at the full hip on the average 5″5″ woman.
My Adjustments
My high bust measurement of 40″ puts me into an XL. Since my full bust of 45″ is more than 4″ larger, I used the full bust front piece. I graded out to the 2X at the waist and hips. My hips are just over the 2X measurement ~ but that will be fine because of the extra 2″ of ease at the waist and hips when using the full bust front piece. When cutting, I use the XL for the neckline and shoulders, then grade to the 2X.
I am only 5 feet tall, but not really short waisted, so I did NOT shorten the Juliet. The length is really a personal preference. It would look really cute cropped shorter if you wanted!
Fabrics and Notions
The Juliet is designed for light to medium weight knit fabrics with at least 20% stretch. Fabrics such as rib knits, ITY, jersey blends, and interlock would work well. Cotton spandex blends may not have enough drape for the Juliet. I also found that pointelle worked nicely! I can also imagine one in the knit dotted Swiss fabrics that I have seen. Get creative and mix and match your fabrics! I have so many more ideas for this top!
Different fabrics will give you different results. My favorite for the Juliet is rib knits! I loved the 8 X 3 Rib knits from Raspberry Creek Fabrics for this top. The type of knit did determine how visible or prominent the gathers were. The narrow rib knit I used worked out nicely as well, however I did notice that the gathers are not as visible on these versions. Double Brushed Poly on the other hand created a top with “more” gathered look. I’m sewing up a modal version right now, and although a thinner fabric, I think it’s going to turn out fabulous! Be sure to check the photos of Ambassadors and testers to see which fabrics they have used, this can give you a good indication of how different fabrics work with a pattern.
My Favorite…A Nightgown Hack
The minute I saw Tami’s line drawing for the Juliet, I knew that I would be hacking it into a nightgown! My favorite nightgowns are literally falling apart. Years ago, my oldest daughter worked for company that designed and produced the Eileen West gowns. I would go to the sample sales and pick few up for $5 each. Fast forward a few years, and she no longer designs for them and I went shopping for a new Eileen West nightgown. Imagine my shock when I saw the prices, $54 and up!!!
This is a super quick and easy hack! This is what I did to get “my” perfect nightgown. I made mine in 8 X 3 Rib knit from Raspberry Creek Fabrics that I had in my stash. I am planning of ordering some Bamboo Cotton for my next version~ and I am so excited for that one!
- Added more fullness to to front by placing the front piece 1″ away from the fold when cutting.
- Shortened the short sleeve by 2″
- Added 12″ in length to the front and back pieces. You could add more or less depending on your preference. You could also add a ruffle to the bottom if you wanted to!
- Added some lace and a tiny ribbon bow from my stash to the yoke.
- How simple is that!!
- My version cost me $24 for fabric. (I’m sure it was less, because I always buy my fabrics when on sale!) Buttons, lace and ribbon all from my stash!
Sew Mary Mac’s Tips for Sewing the Juliet
- Pintucks~ I found it very helpful to spray my yoke piece with “Best Press” before I began folding and sewing the pin tucks.
- After sewing the pintucks, baste across the top and bottom of the yoke piece making sure to have the tucks in the right direction and that they don’t move when attaching the lower front.
- Neck binding~. whenever I sew a neck binding I prefer to pin the right side of the neck binding to the wrong side of the neckline. Stitch as directed, then I fold the neckbinding to the right side of the shirt enclosing the seam allowance. I simply find it much easier to get nice and even topstitching this way. You can visit my La Bella Donna top blog post HERE. This post gives more detail on this.
- I tightened up my neck binding a bit, about 1/2″ shorter.
- I concentrated my gathers more to the middle. The gathers look differently on all of us, since we are all shaped differently. Play around with your gathers and hold them up to yourself to get the look you want.
- Use a washable glue stick to hold your buttons in place~ then sew them on with your machine! Be sure to give the glue a few minutes to dry/harden up.
- Use Soft Stretch fusible web adhesive to help you get the perfect hem. Read all about it HERE.
Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate all of you that visit! If you enjoyed this blog post, consider subscribing to my blog to stay up to date with all my posts!
Mary Anne 🙂
Remember to follow me over on Instagram to see all my latest makes! @sewmarymac
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Yhttps://www.lovenotions.com/product/juliet-top?affiliates=861ou can grab the Juliet pattern here.
This is an affiliate link. It costs you nothing to purchase from this link, it just helps fund my fabric addiction which allows me to test and review more patterns.
To receive an additional 10% off the pattern price, use this coupon code MACSEWS10. This coupon code can be used at anytime on any pattern….even a $5 Feature Friday pattern. My code does change quarterly, so please always check the newest blog post for an update if you find a code isn’t working.
Fabric Resources
Raspberry Creek Fabrics ~ 8 X 3 Rib and DBP
Yellow Floral Rib- can be custom ordered, but this new print is similar and is available retail right now.
Floral nightgown fabric is also an older print from RCF. This is an 8 X 3 Rib. There are so beautiful designs available retail right now. You can see them here. Any of these prints can be ordered in the rib or DBP fabric
Blue Compass Print DBP and be found HERE.
Narrow Ribs
The Camo print narrow rib is from Surge Fabrics and is still available. It is so soft and cozy! You can grab that HERE.
The Pink Gingham narrow rib knit is from Mily Mae Fabrics. This is no longer available, but they have a great stock of rib knits that is always changing!
Cornflower Blue Cotton Pointelle is from The Fabric Snob. This particular fabric is not available at this time, but they carry a lovely collection of high quality knit fabrics!
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