Sewing for others: Grey Checks and Orange Zips

This top has been so long in the making, I can't belive it's taken me over two years to make another version of this blouse for my mum! Since making that top she has worn it constantly, and while it's still in heavy rotation in her wardrobe it was about time that I made her another. As is often the case we were delayed by the lack of being able to find the right fabric so when we found this gorgeous grey check fabric shopping in Tokyo we jumped upon it.

I love this fabric (bought in Tokyo!) so much that I was very tempted to keep it for myself but... seeing as this top was promised a long time ago and it was my mum who actually spotted the fabric in the first place and bought it for herself I reluctantly made something for her. This blouse is exactly the same as the last one although I think my pattern drafting has definitely improved since then so if I make another one I might re-trace the original top that my pattern was copied from. It's a very simple shape but the darts and facing make it really nice.

The best part of this top has to be the zip - it's amazing! Again, this was picked out by my mum with this top in mind and it is just perfect. I love the contrast of the grey and the orange and it's a lovely surprise to see the bright zip when she turns around. I really love circular zip pulls too but they're oddly hard to come across.

I'm so pleased with this top, although not as much as my mum who has already worn it lots since I've made it. The fabric is really soft (I think it might be a flannel) so it's good for this time of year too. I loved the fabric so much that I even managed to squeeze a top for myself out of the very few leftovers!