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About a month or so ago I a lucky to be part of another pattern testing group for Nina Lee Patterns. She recently launched a PDF only collection inspired by the lovely weather we had in England this summer called Summer Essentials that includes 3 patterns Effra Skirt, Fleet Top and Moselle Ruffle Top and Dress.

I only had time to test one pattern and chose to go for Fleet Top. This is a very good option for someone who is a beginner sewist as the top is a very simple design and it’s quite easy and fast to construct.

Based on my body measurements I made a size 10. I chose to make it in both woven and knitted fabric which I already had in my stash. It only took less than 1 m each to make. The fabrics came from my local Abakan store.

I constructed the knitted version on the overlocker/serger except for the hems, which I did on the sewing machine. The fabric I used for this one as a bit too stiff and the look is not quite what I had in mind. However, it is a cute little summery top.

For the woven version, I used a fabric that’s a bit flowier so the finished item is looking more like what I had in mind when I chose this pattern to test.

These tops come together really fast and used little fabric you can even dig into your leftover stash. I am already thinking of making some versions of these tops. I’ll probably want to make them one size bigger (I’d like to be a bit boxier). I’ll also lengthen it a little so I can wear it tucked into skirts/trousers and for it not to come out as I raise my arm. Well yeah, I seem to raise my arms a lot and I hate showing my midsection so longer tops help.