Tilly and the Buttons Freya Top

Like so many other dressmakers, when I heard that Tilly and the Buttons had a second book coming out, I couldn't wait! When it did launch, the book in question was no disappointment... Stretch contains six different sewing patterns, all designed for knit fabrics, and all beautifully laid out, photographed and drafted. I was so excited to receive this book and immediately read the whole thing. A week later, I had made one of the patterns and had a head swimming with ideas for the others.
As soon as I saw the patterns, I knew that I wanted to make the Freya top first. I love turtlenecks, and the mock-neck sweater is exactly what I wanted to make out of a fabric that I've had for a while. It was so quick and easy to make, and I know that I'll be making many more! It's also an extremely versatile pattern, and while I don't think that I'll make all the versions it's great to have so many options available.



The fabric is a lovely knit fabric that I've had for longer than I usually keep fabric for, just because I was unsure what to make out of it. I'm so glad I waited for this pattern though, because I think that it's perfect for the fabric. The Freya would have probably worked better in a fabric which had slightly more stretch to it (something that I'll bear in mind for next time) but it still worked well in this jersey. The only thing that I did to account for the slight lack of stretch was to sew the neckband with a smaller seam allowance so that it would actually fit over my head, but now that I've done that it's absolutely fine.



There isn't really much else to say about this top, other than I love it! I think it'll be great to wear with my Brumby skirt or just with a pair of jeans. It was a lovely top to make and a real palette cleanser after my jeans and my anorak. While I enjoy in-depth projects, sometimes a speedy sew is exactly what you need, and the Freya top is perfect for that. I'm already planning another one, hopefully with short sleeves - although we had snow on the ground at the time of stitching my first Freya (in mid-March!) so I'm not sure if spring is ever actually going to arrive!