A Minttu Swing Top for my Mum

With the heatwave we are currently faced with sleeveless tops seem to be the way to go, and so I have been busy sewing several. I've already made my Mum a Hadley Top and a couple of weeks ago I made her the Minttu Swing Top by Named Clothing. It was my first time using a Named pattern although there are several that I've wanted to make for a while as the style of many of their patterns are really nice.

Despite the fact that the design of this top is very simple and that there are few pattern pieces, the actual contruction of it proved to be a bit of an annoyance and extremely confusing. The main problem that I was faced with was that when my Mum first tried the top on, it was way too small. After double and triple checking the size I cut out and the seam allowance I used I really couldn't find an obvious fault. The size I chose should have matched her measurements exactly. I don't know if this has something to do with the fabric I used (woven, not jersey as recommended by the pattern) but even if I had used a stretch fabric it still would have been too small. It was too tight across the bust, underneath the armholes and also at the neckline. Of course I may have just made  a mistake with the size I chose, but I was wondering wether or not others have found some problems with the sizing of Named patterns?

Nevertheless, I was determined to find some kind of solution for this top. The solution that I found came in the form of slicing down the centre back. I always find cutting fabric slightly scary, especially when you're cutting down the middle the back of a top! At this point, my Adjustoform was completely invaluable. I was able to change the measurements to those of my Mum and created a trapezium shape which I then inserted into the centre back. This made not only the neckline larger but also created more room throughout the rest of the top. 

Other than the sizing issue, the other confusion I had was the all-in-one armhole and neckline facing. It's the first time that I tested out the technique but I really like the finish, and once you get the hang of it it makes sense. The instructions are a bit confusing but I found a really clear and helpful YouTube video which I'd highly recommend. 

I also left a key hole opening on the left side of the insert which I then topstitched in orange and bar tacked along the bottom. This actually became one of my favourite details. You've also probably noticed the orange piping by now. It was my Mum's idea to add it and it adds a lovely bit of colour to the otherwise plain fabric. The piping is a really gorgeous fabric bought from Petit Pan. The great thing about the trapeze style is that it was easy to add the piping in the seam. The orange topstichting around the key hole I added on the left and the piping on the right, which I think balances out the proportions nicely.