I recently had the opportunity to be a tester for the Pomegranate Top from Octavia Patterns. This amazing top is not a staple in my wardrobe and I plan to make many more.
The Pomegranate Top
I made this pattern back at the end of August and couldn’t share until the pattern release. I’m so excited to share this pattern because while I’ve been waiting I’ve made another 3 versions of this top and plan to make more.
The Pomegranate top is a self-faced cowl neck top with lovely kimono sleeves and is cut on the bais.
I love the drapey cowl neck and feels it gives it a very classic vintage look and depending on the print you use it can feel like it’s out of the 30’s all the way to the 60’s.
The Construction
As I said I made 4 total versions of this top and each one was a little different.
The first one I made I used my measurements and cut the size 16 grading to a 20 waist. I was using some lovely pink chiffon fabric in my stash and planned to wear the top with a tank. The first issue I had is that I don’t think I placed the pattern pieces on the true bias, I think they were off a bit. Also, while the top fit it was super tight in the back, no lifting things in this top.
I decided to just cut a straight 20 for my next version which I made in a pastel satiny silky fabric. I made sure this time to cut on the true bias and while the top is easier to wear it still could use the room in the back.
After doing some research I discovered what I needed to do is to make a broad back adjustment.
This top was so easy to make, probably less than an hour that I wanted to make more of them, but being lazy didn’t want to make the pattern adjustments just yet. So I decided to try the top with some stretchy rayon type fabrics I had in my stash and ones I already had planned to use for my autumn plans.
The first was a geomatical pattern fabric with browns and yellows. for this version, I cut the size 20 on the bais. The stretch of the fabric makes the back problems go away, though this version was a little bigger than I would have liked, but not by much.
Finally, I’d been hoarding this lovely Italian print (or at least that what the print makes mthinkng of) of rayon fabric in my stash forever.
I didn’t have much of it but knew the drape would look great for this top. When it came time to cut out the top I realized that I didn’t have enough fabric to cut the pattern on the bias. However, since this fabric had stretch to it and given that my last stretchy version was a bit big I thought I’d go ahead and cut it on the straight of grain. As it turns out it fits perfectly and is probably my favorite version of the 4 tops.
| Sewing Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Aug 27 |  |
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| Pattern: | Pomergrante Top – Octavia Patterns | |||||
| Version: | 1 | |||||
| Size: | 20 | |||||
| Notes & Modification: | Cut larger size to provide more ease | |||||
| Recommendations: | Tight along back, will do a broad back adjustment | |||||
| Difficulty: | Easy | Ratting: | ||||
Fave Features
It usually takes me forever to sew something even if it’s a relatively easy pattern because I tend to take my time. This top whips up in less than an hour for me and for the more efficient seamstress I’m sure even less time.
The pattern is super easy with no darts, no zips, just cut and sew. The style is also super cute. I just love it.
I recently got some fabric for my birthday and I’m hoping to make a few more of these tops, though I will need to do that broad back adjustment for the non-stretch fabrics. I’m also thinking about doing a long sleeve hack of this top, but we’ll see how that goes.
Overall this pattern is simple, flattering and a great wardrobe staple. Best of all this week you can get the pomegranate top for 20% so I totally suggest you check it out.
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