Lockdown tops

I seem to have been making a lot of tops for the girls during lockdown. The one saving grace for us in this awful period has been that we have had very nice weather, for the most part. So tops to go with summer trousers and shorts have been the most demanded items by two grand-daughters, Jane and Ada (and shorts - but that's for another post). 

 

 

Read on to find details of the patterns used (all of them free), or links to my posts about making them.

I made two tops using the Little Lizard King Raleigh Top. This is a free pattern for a reversible woven top. I didn't make it exactly as the pattern came (but then, I rarely do!) I lengthened it by 2 3/4" - 3 1/2" on the 2 different sizes I used (6 and 3). You can find out how to lengthen it in this post. 

These are the two faces of the sizes 3:

This is the size 6.

This shirred top is my own design, but very easy to copy. I've written up a tutorial for it in this post.

Too pretty for active wear? Not for this girl! It works for running, cycling or gymnastics!

I'm cheating a bit with this top, as it wasn't newly made this year. In fact, it was originally made 3 years ago for the now 6-year-old, but younger sister loves it. This top was made by taking just the top half of Purl Soho's Summer Romper, a pattern I love and have used time after time. You can read about more of the tops I made using it, in this post. But if you've sharp eyes, you'll notice that this top has had an extra frill added for length, compared with the one in the earlier post.

Two for the price of one, here. Jane (the taller one!) is wearing a Flutter Sleeve Peasant Top, based on the pattern by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. Another favourite designer. I added an extra frill to make it a slightly longer top. Ada's is again a hand-me-down. (Don't feel sorry for her - she has hand-me-down clothes from an older sister and two cousins, as well as some of her own clothes!) Her little top with the pom-pom trim was made for her cousin at the same age, and is another flutter sleeve top style, but this one was made from It's Always Autumn's pattern. If anything, I like it even better than the Scattered Thoughts one, because there's a bit more coverage on the shoulders and armpits, but the free pattern only comes in size 4. I've used it for size 3, and 5, by making it a touch smaller or larger, but I thought it would be pushing it for Jane, who is a very tall 6-year-old.

And finally - one of my favourite patterns is the Izzy Top. (It's the one of the left. I didn't make the blue on on the right.) Unfortunately, right now, I can't give you a link to the pattern. It was hosted on (wait for it) Craftsy, as a free pattern made by Climbing the Willow. Craftsy were bought up by Bluprint, who continued to host the pattern for a small fee (about $1, I think - I had it already downloaded by then). Then Bluprint decided they didn't want to do it any more and would close down. Next, they decided that the Craftsy name was worth something, and so that has now been sold to TN Marketing, who intend to revive the name. This may happen later this year, but it's not yet known whether they will revive the patterns - if they can find them in the archives, which may or may not have been passed on by Bluprint! In the meantime, many of the designers who sold, or offered free, their patterns on Craftsy/ Bluprint/ Craftsy, have now gone to the wall, or disappeared, so tracking them down has so far proved elusive. As soon as I can provide a valid link, I will. In the meantime, the only way you'll be able to get it is to come round and borrow mine, or find someone else who already has it. 

I will continue to use it, as I love the design, with its curved yoke. And I shall continue my efforts to find the designer so I can provide a link to her great pattern.