Sinclair Patterns Danielle Relaxed Fit Batwing Knit Top

I never had heard of Sinclair Patterns until a few weeks ago. I came across a tester call post on Facebook and loved the top shown only as a line drawing. I put in my application and waited.

I got an email that I was selected for the Danielle relaxed fit batwing knit top! The email had lots of good information and said to choose your size off of your bust measurement. I joined the facebook group and downloaded my pattern. I was thrilled to see that the pattern came in 3 heights: Petite for 5' 1" - 5' 3", Regular 5' 4" to 5' 6", and Tall 5' 7" - 5' 9". I'm still shorter than the petite, but this meant I could save myself from making height adjustments to the pattern.

I opened the instructions to look at the size chart. My bust squarely put me into a size 8, but my waist and hips would be a size 10 and 12 respectively. The pattern came as a zip file with multiple folders. There were 2 folders for each height. One folder was size 0 - 10, and the other was 12-22. Well, I guess I'll have to squeeze my hips into a size 10. I open the 0 -10 folder only to be met with a separate pattern for each size! How on earth am I supposed to grade this top to fit? Well, I listened to the designer and went with my bust size. And thankfully this top is designed to be a bit roomy and no grading was needed.

I used a plush brushed poly from Zenith & Quasar. The book print is designed by Elishka Jepson. You can find her designs on Spoonflower and periodically at Zenith & Quasar and other custom knit groups. The bands are a cotton lycra from Wanderlust Designs Custom Fabric.

The back of the top is what really attracted me to the Danielle to begin with. I always love a top that has a unique feature and is interesting from the front or the back. Another design element that I love is the tapered cuffs.

I do love how my top turned out. It is so hard to find designers that offer petite sizing. I do wish that this designer offered the pattern with all sizes in a print at home version with layers. If I purchase a pattern from this designer in the future, I will have the large format pattern printed of all the sizes so that I can easily grade to account for my pear shape.