KCW Day 1

I was hard pressed to get my hour's sewing in yesterday afternoon, and I didn't think I would have anything to share today.  But then the husband got distracted by work in the evening and I had a chance to sneak back to the machine and finish off my first KCW project: an Izzy Top using the free pattern from Climbing the Willow.  I had actually cut four of these tops despite never having sewn one before.  It is similar to my beloved Ice Cream pattern, but has a curved yoke that I think is really sweet.

This top is made entirely of cotton voile scraps - the yoke is from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks line and the lining and skirt are Fabric.com voile (the difference is big, folks).  I had to piece together the front and the back skirts, an act that I decided to embrace with topstitching emphasis.  The back yoke has a surprise (also due to fabric shortage).  I had been hoarding these AMH scraps for two years, since my first KCW, actually, and I'm glad I found a use for them before the girls grew any more!

I changed up the pattern slightly by swapping out the button tab for a button loop (made out of a bias strip of fabric).

This is a very poofy shirt/tunic and I am very glad I used the voile.  Quilting cotton would work fine for the yoke but I think it would be a hot mess in the skirt.  I wouldn't want it any poofier, though I think it looks adorable on my 3-year-old.  I sewed her a size 3T with 5T length PLUS a couple inches.  It will be great with capri-length leggings for summer and hopefully she'll get another year or two out of it.

My only beef with the pattern is the way the inside is finished.  When I see a pattern with a lined yoke, I generally expect a very clean inside finish (yes, I am very spoiled and possibly have unrealistic expectations).  In this pattern, the yoke is sewn to the skirt in one piece, leaving an exposed seam, which I think might irritate my older daughter's sensitive skin.  I don't think it would be that hard to adapt this pattern by using the sewing technique for the Ice Cream top (though, spoiler alert, I sewed a second Izzy for KCW Day 2 and after a little bit of fiddling I gave up and made it according to the pattern instructions).