Simply Silk, A Cynthia Rowley Top (Simplicity 1366)

If you are looking to sew something that will bring quick gratification, this is the pattern to use. 

I have just posted a review of Simplicity 1366 at the Pattern Review website.

I used silk fabrics for this project. 

It can't get any simpler than this top pattern. There are only four pieces--front, back, sleeves and neck facing. The simplicity of the design makes it perfect as a blank canvas for design modifications. 

As I only had one yard left of the silk chiffon left from a previous project, I could only fit the front and back bodice pieces which were both cut on the fold. The sleeves were cut from a solid black textured silk fabric. 

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Because my fabric was lightweight and semi-sheer I opted to finish the seams using French seams. The 5/8" seam allowance made the process super easy. I have sewn some Indie blouse patterns where the seam allowance was only 3/8" and using French seams in those cases was challenging unless I widened the seam allowance. 

When I was pining the neck facing to the neckline, it looked like the facing was too wide for the neckline. The trick is to just pin along the markings (shoulders/notches, centers) and leave the rest free. Because the facing had more ease, I made sure to sew with the facing near the feed dogs. That way I was able to ease it in while stretching the top fabric a bit. It's similar to easing in sleeves while sewing in the flat. 

Here is the finished neckline.

For the sleeve hems, I used a 3/4" allowance after testing the top and determining where I wanted the sleeves to hit. I used a narrow hem.

For the bottom hem, I hand stitched a blind hem.

Here are some more pictures of the finished top. I'm quite happy with how it turned out!