One of our amazing Misty Top testers, Laura from @thespeckyseamstress, sewed up 7 Misty Tops during testing! She tried out a bunch of different fabrics in the process, was gracious enough to write a guest blog post all about her Mistys. Welcome Laura!!
I had a lot of fun through my first year of sewing making fitted dresses in pretty prints, then moving onto sewing with stretch and making all of the t-shirts and wrap dresses. But, for the last few months my wardrobe has been craving wardrobe staples, you know those staples that you find yourself reaching for again and again. Unhappy with the fit of the remaining RTW garments in my wardrobe, I knew it was time to tackle the basics and I’ve been eyeing up a decent camisole for some time.
A cami is just such a practical wardrobe staple. As a larger lady (I sew the size 18 c/d), it’s one that’s difficult to get right too. Worn with a blazer for work, a pretty skirt for play, or jeans for those “everyday” days, the Misty hits the bill on so many fronts. I never thought I’d say I loved the drafting of a bust dart so much, but hey, that’s the sewing geek in me!
When I saw the pattern and was asked to pattern test, my mind immediately jumped to versions in viscose, to drape and float with the a line shaping. But after making my first one (or two) and falling in love with the pattern. I realised what a fabric frugal pattern this was and I decided to see if I could get a Misty from a yard of Ankara wax I had in my stash.
The balance between the width of the back and front pieces mean that the Misty is not confined to a floaty fabric – far from it! The wax fabric version is one of my favourites, that little bit of structure giving the a line shape some definition. Revelation! Cue me sitting surrounded by piles of 1m pieces of cotton’s and labelling them “Misty”. The different look the wax gave the pattern got me thinking about all the other possibilities.
Halfway through the pattern test I decided the Misty was such a great scrap buster and quick sew, that I needed to make 7, one for each day of the week. With the British summer having hit hard, I needed cami tops in my life! I wanted to show a range of fabrics and hopefully this gives you some idea of how versatile the pattern can be.
1 Pattern, 5 Fabrics!
Textured Viscose
For my first post muslin Misty I went for a safe bet. The viscose (from Fabric Land in the UK) drapes just as you’d expect and this one looks great loose over jeans or tucked into high waisted skirts. It’s seen work days and play days and it’ll get a lot of wear.
Silk Polyester
For my next I didn’t venture too far. This silky poly fabric I picked up from the GoldHawk road in London and it has slightly more structure than the viscose. That, along with the fact it’s slightly smaller (due to poorly judged french seams!) Means it hangs in a slightly less drapey manner. This one is one of my favourites.
Ankara Wax
My first venture into truly structured fabrics, I was so delighted to make this one from 1 yard of fabric from Dovetailed London. The structure, paired with the straightish back piece mean this one looks great with a jersey pencil skirt or drainpipe jeans. There’s going to be many more Ankara Misty’s in my future. I did decide on this make that I’d make the more structured fabric with the straight straps instead of cross back. The wax was great, but think anything heavier works best with the straight straps.
Dobby Cotton
I picked up this very lightweight Dobby cotton from Sew Me Sunshine and I decided it’d be the perfect summer top. It’s quite see through, so I might make another double layered, but it’s gonna be such a cute swim coverup in the summer (and hey, I’m not too concerned with my bra showing!)
Wool Crepe
Well, by this time I’d fallen in love with the pattern, enough to cut into my beloved ex designer space and floral wool crepe from Fabric Godmother. The mix of structure and drape in this fabric is just perfect for the Misty. I love it. It hangs beautifully, skimming the body without too much flare.
Viscose Crepe
A reasonably heavy crepe is totally the perfect pairing for a cami top, right? Well, it turns out it is! This is a great work wear item with viscose crepe from Sewisfaction. This can be paired with a blazer to cover the arms for the office. I’m excited to add this to my work wardrobe rotation.
Needlcord
Ok I couldn’t resist this one. I have had this parrot self drafted needlecord disaster dress in my “need to unpick” pile for some time (we’ve all got one, right?) And I just couldn’t resist seeing if I could piece a Misty from it. Guess what, I could and it might just be my favourite. I made it up with visions of wearing over a roll neck with tights and boots in the winter but I actually love it on its own and needlecord isn’t too heavy. I’ve got some more of this needlecord from Loubodu Fabrics and I wonder if I needlecord misty dress would work??
So what next? I have visions of Misty’s in chambray, quilting cotton, linen and I have a Liberty cotton lawn I know will look ace. There will be several more Ankara Misty’s in my wardrobe and I’m going to dig through my discarded RTWs to see if I can piece together some Misty’s from there. It’s just such a versatile scrap buster…. I can’t wait to make more! For now though, I’ve got 7 beautiful tops which all have a different vibe to them to add to my me made wardrobe!
You can check out me talking about the Misty and all my makes in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/DVNt9CBfmTM.
Laura (@thespeckyseamstress)
Wow! We love all your Mistys Laura and can’t wait to see what you make next! Thanks for sharing them with us!
