Sweetheart Sofia top

Sometimes you come across a pattern that you want to use right away. Like this Sofia top from Staystitch Pattern.co. It’s a top, long sleeve t-shirt and dress in one. With left over thicker rib jersey I made the sleeveless top first…. I know that I will sew more. To make it wearable today, I simply style it a bit warmer.

Spring, where are you?

The neckline is what really appeals to me, a real sweetheart neckline. Beautiful but also a challenge, especially with the choice for the thicker rib jersey.

Lees hier in het Nederlands

The pattern actually consists of two tops. For the outer I used the rib jersey, for the inner (the facing and shorter than the outer) I used regular jersey.

Before assembling the facing is reinforced along the neckline with interfacing fabric especially for stretch fabrics. You can cut this using the special pattern piece. Super handy.

The sweetheart Sofia top is put together with Seraflock threads and my bernette 64 AIRLOCK. The neckline and hem are stitched with Seraflex thread from Mettler and the sewing machine.

Seraflex en Seraflock

Stitching

First, the shoulder seams of both the top and the facing are sewn. I did this simply with the over locker and four threads.

Shoulder seams

Then I stitched the neckline all around. First pinned neatly with many pins. The rib jersey works a bit like velvet and has a tendency to shift, so it’s better to use more pins to prevent this. I stitched the neckline with a seam allowance of 1 cm, this is included in the pattern. To get a sharp sweetheart I indicate the turning point at 1 cm with a disappearing marker. After stitching, the seam allowance is clipped, so you get a nice curve. After carefully ironing the neckline, I stitched narrowly on the facing.

Pin pin pin pin

Pivot point

Sew carefully over the pins

Clip

Sharp sweetheart

Burrito

Beforehand I thought that the neckline would be the most difficult. This wasn’t the case. The armholes are closed with the burrito method. That’s always a bit of a brain teaser. Fortunately, this was well explained in the pattern and even included a link to a tutorial. It was uncertain whether I was going to get the top through the rather narrow straps, especially considering the thickness of the fabric. With some patient fiddling, I succeeded.

Burrito

Pull through

Finishing

After closing the side seams with the over locker, it’s time to finish the sweetheart Sofia top neatly. The seam of the facing and the top is finished with the over locker. The beautiful seams always make me happy. Then I folded the hem and topstitch this at 2 cm with a larger (4) straight stitch and Seraflex. You can also do this with a twin needle. It is recommended to use a hem tape to prevent stretching. I didn’t use it, but I did lower the foot pressure a bit so that the hem rolled nicely under the machine.

Side seams

Gorgeous stitches

First with the over locker

Then folded

And what I predicted one Sofia top is not enough. Now I want to take many Sofia’s in all colours to take on holiday. In any case, this version fits completely within the colour scheme of the Capsule Wardrobe that I sew on the BERNINA 590 Crystal Edition