This is the Sorbetto top from Colette patterns - the stuff that sewing obsessions are made of.
It only has two pieces (front, back), and can be cut from less than a metre of fabric. The fit is forgiving, yet still flattering, and it pulls on so there are no fiddly fastenings. And, best of all, it's available as a free download.
With so much to recommend it, you can't blame me for having got a little carried away...
Despite my frenzied mass production, I've yet to make this patterns in its original form. It lends itself so readily to a bit of adaptation that it's hard to resist tweaking a bit. The Sorbetto proper has a centre-front pleat, sewn down and pressed outwards, and decorative bias tape on the outside. The bias tape I had on hand was nothing special, so it had to stay hidden, and the pleated front just kept evolving away from the original...
I started out with this: pleat inverted and left open. It was a purely practical choice based on allowing a bit of extra tummy room in case the pattern proved un-generous in its sizing. I needn't have worried - it just right (though Colette works in American sizes, so I did have to measure myself and check the chart).
No pleat at all here - I cut with the fold of the fabric on the pleat line instead - because I didn't have much of this silk and was trying to eke it out.
A fully lined version, double-layered as this cotton voile is more or less transparent. No bias tape for the facings here, as the lining does that job instead, and no pleat either.
The pleat is back, still inverted, with buttons down to the level of the darts. This is copied wholesale from JohannaO's photo on flickr, perhaps my favourite variation so far.
And finally, a summery Sorbetto with gathers where the pleat should be.
Truly, it works every time! This pattern is pure sewing therapy at the end of a long day.
(And I can hear the Colette website calling me back to spend some actual money next time...)
