Colette Sorbetto Top

Sometimes, I will set aside some time for sewing without a clear plan of what I’m going to do.  I usually have a few possibilities in mind, but every so often I’ll just end up sewing something completely unexpected, and that’s what happened on the day I made this Colette Patterns Sorbetto top.

Colette Sorbetto top worn with Gertie’s Knit Pencil Skirt.

I was looking through my box of scrap fabrics, because I was trying to find a scrap large enough to use as a lining for something else, when I came across quite a large piece of this lovely cotton lawn sent to me by Minerva for my Eliza M Audrey dress.  I measured it and found I had just under a metre left over, but because the fabric is 58″ wide, it had potential!  With it being such a silky, lightweight cotton, I thought it would make a great top.

I used the Sorbetto pattern when it first came out in 2011 to make a top which I didn’t much like, truth be told, a top which has since been given to charity.  I hadn’t given any further thought to the pattern until it suddenly called to me from the depths of my pattern stash!  It was the perfect pattern for this bit of fabric!

I wore it to London and here I am in the William Morris room of the V&A museum cafe eating THE BEST CAKE EVER

I didn’t have enough of the fabric to cut bias strips, nor did I have any store-bought coordinating binding, so I used the tutorial on the Colette Patterns website to make ‘continuous bias binding’.  With two 8″ squares of fabric, I made more than enough bias binding to bind the neckline and arm holes of the top, which is great because it matches exactly and it isn’t stiff and scratchy like most of the ready-made stuff.

After making the bias binding, I then fed it through my bias binding maker to help fold the raw edges in before pressing

The top was super simple to make, and because it’s a relaxed fit I made no alterations.  In hindsight, it could perhaps do with a swayback alteration, but even if I made another version, I can’t promise I’d be willing to devote the time it.  The fact that the back is cut on the fold complicates it further.  It’s just a simple top and I’m lazy.

Colette Sorbetto top – back view

The top looks nice with my Gertie Knit pencil skirt, and is good with jeans.  A surprising, useful, and pretty addition to my Spring wardrobe!