In my ongoing goal to make clothing again, I decided to tackle the very popular Tova top by Wiksten. There is always a risk when you take on a “popular” pattern that you are just following the crowd…the blind leading the blind, so to speak. But I’ve seen enough photos of this particular top that I thought it might be worth the effort.
I made the top in a size Medium (which seems about right for me these days…sigh…feeling bigger than I was in my 20’s). A size small would definitely have been too tight in the arm holes and that is what I was most worried about with taking on a shirt. And honestly I might even have been able to flair this out a bit more for around my hips even with the medium. I found the directions a bit difficult to follow…it was tough for me to read ahead. But I know that I second attempt at this would be simple enough to do.
I love the pretty details of this top like the gathered sleeve cuff shown above. Other details are the placket and inset that give this top such a distinctive look of relaxed yet structured. I made the top with a Voile designed by Joel Dewberry. Voile can be difficult to work with but is pretty par for the course for most garment materials. It’s no quilting cotton, but I’ve worked with much tougher materials in garment sewing. And I LOVE how it feels to wear it.
I had some length to work with when hemming this, but settled on this medium length ultimately. I think the tunic length could be cuter than I thought, but I would definitely need to add more ease for my bottom half 😉 I think the pattern is fairly slim in nature over all, so I would err on a size up if debating where to start.
Oh and I am very proud to say that I did my first Blind Hem Stitch EVER! How I can sew for over 20 years and never have done that is pretty funny, but this is the first garment that I knew needed it. The voile is too light and airy to put a line of visible stitching all along the bottom hem.
I would definitely recommend practicing that blind hem stitch before trying it on your finished garment. I definitely had a bit of a learning curve with my machine and the stitch width etc. I followed THIS tutorial. (thank you pinterest!) The tutorial is great but I definitely needed to use a 1/4″ seam with my machine…no 1/8″ would work for me…It just got all jumbled in my machine plate. And you all know that is NO good.
And I think it doesn’t look too bad from the back either. You have to think about that stuff with three dimensional sewing. 😉 And if you’ll be at Sewing Summit, look for me wearing this top! I think I’m brave enough to wear it in public.
It turned out beautifully, and good call on the blind hem! I've always wanted to try one, too. I'll check out the tutorial.
Your Tova is fabulous! Love the fabric – Congrats on a great finish! Yep, it's on my bucket list…
So cute. I pinned it. Makes me want to make one for myself 😉
Very cute, and it always looks good when the teacher turns up dressed handmade :o)
You did so fabulous on this. I think you should be proud : )
Beautiful fabric, and yay for liking your finished product! I've made a few of these, and love them to wear. But nice fabric makes all the difference! I'm going to test that blind hem stitch out I think….
Beautiful fabric, and yay for liking your finished product! I've made a few of these, and love them to wear. But nice fabric makes all the difference! I'm going to test that blind hem stitch out I think….
This looks fabulous Angela.
Wear it proudly. It looks great on you. As for the blind hem, I just did that on a pair of pants the other day. I remember when my mom taught me how to do it. Boy, did it require some extra thinking on my part but once I got it then (as a teenager), it's been a great tool in my arsenal of skills.
Wear it proudly. It looks great on you. As for the blind hem, I just did that on a pair of pants the other day. I remember when my mom taught me how to do it. Boy, did it require some extra thinking on my part but once I got it then (as a teenager), it's been a great tool in my arsenal of skills.
Looks so good! Great choice on the length too.
Beautiful job! Love your fabric and your fit seems quite perfect – it looks great on you. I made one of these and found picking a size to be a little tough since I haven't sewn garments for myself in a long while. Now that I've made one I know where I need a bit more room next time. I love this pattern and plan to make more!
That is most definitely the trick with sewing garments! Getting the fit right! Even with this fitting reasonably well, I still think that there are things I might tweak if I made it again. Especially if I made a longer tunic version.
This looks awesome, Angela! You better wear it in public!
Super cute! I love it. Now I want to make myself one, too…
You definitely should! It is worth the try I think.
Cute! Perfect fit and that color looks great on you!
Thank you Amanda! That's all part of the trick with garment sewing…actually getting it to look decent on the person wearing it. I was nervous about the fabric but it seems to have worked out.
Nice job! It looks great on you.
Great looking top!
Uhhhh I LOVE THIS TOP!!! I've been on a search for a nice shirt that's not too format and without buttons…. this looks awesome…. and I didn't know about the blind hem stitch like that, I guess you use a special foot? hmmm I'm going to look for a link for this pattern and get it
Looks really really great. I think someday I'll try this, too. I'm tired of not finding a tunic that I like or can afford (or that don't fit). Maybe sewing some for me would be the best. 🙂 Thanks for telling about the blind hem. I like that it's nearly invisible. Well done!
That is so cute. I haven't heard of this top so I googled it. If I'd seen that pattern without anyone wearing it, like it's shown on the wiksten website, I never would have looked twice. I looked up finished ones being modeled and now I need one! I've been looking for tops that um…sorta camouflage a tubby tummy.