Pattern mania, the Lou box top & following the designer's advice

Don't you love discovering a new pattern?! It can be such an exciting process and generally goes like this for me...  stumble upon a new pattern (via Instagram, Pinterest or blog), fall a bit (or a lot!) in love with it, research it, find some examples that I love, daydream about making it, (deep breath) buy it, and finally make it. Only then can I stop thinking about it! Phew, what a process... is it like that for you too?



The first time the Lou Box Top by SewDIY came on my radar was with this version, and the process of getting the pattern ended up being a test of my patience as this was a pattern tester's version, the pattern had not yet been released! So of course all I could do was stalk her Instragram account waiting for the release ;-)



When I finally got my hands on the pattern I tried it in a voile (in anticipation for the dark chambray I had in mind for the next) and... it looked totally wrong. Basically I was guilty of not following the designers' direction on fabric and had chosen something without enough drape - it was waaaay too boxy. So I cut that one down to something different, which I'll show you next time, and went back to my stash...



I chose a knit next and this worked really well. You can see from the above pic that the shape is indeed boxy. I'd try this in a rayon or maybe a silk but otherwise I think I'll stick to knits for this. I have a beautiful piece of dark grey tissue weight knit in my stash which I think will look fantastic. I used a solid cream coloured back (an upcycled piece of an old t-shirt sheet that had worn out) to give the eye a rest from the crazy print.

This is a really simple pattern, and would be great for beginners. I love how several different lengths, hemlines and necklines are included, and thought this was very innovative, especially as it's her first pattern release. I did already have a few simple top patterns in my stash but each is a little different, and as I proved with my fabric stuff-up, each has it's own merits and requirements!



The fabric, by the way, was a scrap from Spotlight. As it was a small piece they just charged me a few dollars, which proves that they don't always need to give crappy service!! As an interesting aside, I've washed this maybe 5 times and realised the other day that I don't have an orange t-shirt anymore - it's faded right back to a pink! Oh well, I'll enjoy it it as it is!