When #sleevefest2017 popped up on Instagram, I thought it was a great challenge. The idea is simple. Make, hack, draft, embellish etc. any sleeve on any garment and post it on IG, tagging the organizers (@dream.cut.sew and @valentine.and.stitch). It’s a simple concept, but the sky is the limit. And somehow I find myself waiting until 2 days from the August 31st deadline to post my project. Hey, but better late than never, right? Here’s my DG Patterns’ Olvie Top which absolutely qualifies with its dramatic tie sleeves.
DG Patterns Olvie Top
Style
You’ve already seen the Olvie in my latest hack where I swapped the sleeve for a frill on the sleeveless version. There’s also a cutout sleeve, plain sleeve, and a tied petal sleeve, so there’s tons of options for fun sleeve fans. The petal sleeve is what drew me to this pattern in the first place.
DG Patterns Olvie Top
The top itself has an A-line shape and there’s the option of a dress length. I don’t typically choose looser styles, but this one is not overly voluminous. Thus far both of these tops have been doing a good job keeping me cool for this end of summer.
Fabric
For this version, I’m using a Heather Ross cotton lawn that I bought at Hart’s Fabric when I was in Santa Cruz. I love Heather Ross’ illustration style, and I couldn’t pass by the cute snails.
Because this fabric is quite sheer on its own, I lined it with cotton voile. It’s the same voile I used for my Designer Stitch Jenny Dress, but I bleached it. I was afraid that the yellow was going to change the color of the peach too much. Plus, the lined sleeves partially display the lining when tied. The softer yellow I got after bleaching is a much better match for this fabric.
Back neck opening
I noted it on the frill sleeve that there’s no directions in the pattern for a back neck closure. You really need to have something because of the high fitting neckline. Some options could be an invisible zipper, an exposed zipper, or a simple loop and button. I wanted to do another exposed zipper, but the cotton lawn is too lightweight for a heavy metal zipper. I opted for a bias loop and button.
Button options
A quick Instagram poll showed two clear favorites in my button options. The larger “mustard” (it’s actually closer to cantaloupe) button and the small coral button were both ahead of the others. I really love the striped button, but I have a couple of those, so I’ll save them for a project where I can display all of them.
I was leaning toward the smaller coral button until I realized that my loop was far too big for the small button. So cantaloupe it is! It’s a little unconventional, but I do like the contrast against the rest of the fabric.
Tied petal sleeves
These sleeves are just my favorite. I love how airy they are and they add so much to a simple top. They are easy to line, though I suppose you could choose to hem the edges with a baby hem. Be sure to make sure that you overlap the tops of the caps by the 1″ allowed on the pattern the same way on both sides. At first, I overlapped them opposite ways on each side. I decided that I like the look of the back sleeve overlapping the front, so I unpicked those 2″ on the other sleeve and made the quick fix.
Fall styling
With summer on the wind down, I wanted to use this top as a transition piece. I’m styling this with a wool pencil skirt I made ages ago, my favorite fall boots and an old coral Brass Plum necklace.
Sleeve Fest 2017
You still have until the 31st to get your sleeves in for Sleeve Fest. Check out @dream.cut.sew or @valentine.and.stitch on Instagram for more details. There’s random drawings for participants from some pretty fantastic places!
Are you participating in Sleeve Fest?
The post DG Patterns Olvie Top for #sleevefest2017 appeared first on Elizabeth Made This.
