Zenith & Quasar Butterflies

I have already shown this top before, but now that this Butterfly print is at Preorder at Zenith & Quasar, I decided to show it off again.

I used the Sinclair Patterns Shelby Tunic. It's one of my favorite patterns. I love that it comes in petite sizing and that it's a loose fit and covers my behind.

These Butterflies are just gorgeous and I love the subtle watercolor background. My Grandmother loved butterflies and I think of her everytime I wear this top.

I love the athletic brushed poly from Zenith & Quasar. It's the perfect fabric year round, but I love how it keeps me cool & dry in the Texas heat. It wicks away moisture so fast leaving me dry and cool.

The preorder also has Yoga Swim Spandex (YSS) as an option and I love it as well. The preorder closes on June 29th! See all the prints at preorder at https://www.zenithandquasar.com/product-category/preorder-r34-reprints/

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Ellie & Mac Be Confident Update!

I love a good tunic, because I tend to wear leggings whenever I'm working from home and on the weekends. I especially love wearing tunic that have a high-low hemline. I love the shorter front to show off more of the fun print of my leggings, but enjoy the extra coverage on my rear (where I need it). I was excited to hear that the Ellie & Mac Be Confident pattern was being updated and signed up immediately to test the revisions.

I compared my original Be Confident pattern pieces to the newly revised pieces. I found that the shape of the high-low skirt had been modified. It now has a more gentle slope from the front to the back.

The length of the tunic length skirt was not changed much - it is just a tiny bit shorter. I'm 5' tall and did not remove any length from the skirt. I did remove length from the bodice.

The Be Confident does have a full circle skirt. Which means it is perfect for doing some twirling!

As an adult, I think we forgot how fun it can be to let loose and go for a spin.

I forgot how dizzying it could be.

The bodice of the Be Confident was slimmed down for an improved fit. I made the Be Confident last year and had been disappointed in the fit as the bodice was extremely loose. Now - the fit is just perfect.

The bodice is intended to end at your natural waist. I'm 5' tall and I removed 2.5" in length from the bodice. I recommend measuring yourself to determine if you need to shorten or lengthen the bodice.

I used a slinky lightweight knit for this Be Confident and the wind was able to blow my skirt around.

I'm wearing leggings I made with this fun blue plaid plush brushed poly from Zenith & Quasar Fabrics.

There was one revision made to the pattern after I made this version. The revision narrowed the shoulders by 0.5 inches. If you notice in my photos, the edges of the shoulder go out and slightly over the edge of my shoulder.

If you already own the Be Confident, you will get an email with the updated pattern. If you don't already own it, now's a great time to buy it at the price of $3.85. In addition, there is a site-wide back to school sale. All patterns are 40% off - no code needed! Shop all patterns HERE!

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And here's a few photos of an earlier version I made. This was the looser fit bodice.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.

Itch to Stitch Chirripo Top

Kennis at Itch to Stitch always has amazing patterns. I am in love with the newest pattern - the Chirripo Top.  The Chirripo Top is a loose fit top that has 2 options - sleeveless or with flutter sleeves. I chose to make the sleeveless and was thrilled that I found I was able to make my size (I'm a size 10 A cup in this pattern) with just 1 yard of 60" wide woven fabric.

The details in this top are beautifully made and the finishing touches in the sewing construction give you a garment that looks professionally made. The square neck yoke is a welcome addition to my closet full of round neck tops.

My friend Sharon was also a tester for the Chirripo and we met up for photos. I was taking the two photos above when she arrived to the nature preserve where we decided to meet for photos. As usual, when she arrived we began chatting about all the things that had been happening in our lives and I completely forgot that I needed to take photos of this top. I did snag several good ones of Sharon and I together.

The Chirripo is made for wovens. In particular soft drapey wovens. Sharon's Chirripo is made with a crepe (not sure if it's a rayon or poly blend). My Chirripo is made with a cotton voile. My cotton voile is soft, but probably not quite as drapey as needed. But I absolutely love how it turned out in this double border print.

You might notice in these photos that my Chirripo is a little longer than Sharon's. This is because - I made it longer - but not intentionally. My double border print did not have an even amount of border at both ends. I was doing my best to line up the design on my pattern pieces and intentionally left the extra at the bottom with the intent to cut it off before I hemmed. I then decided to keep as much of the print on the very bottom as possible and decided to only trim the back which was longer.

Since Sharon and I had found this noce shady spot on this 100 degree day, we stayed put and took photos of our second Chirripos we made. I did not realize it at the time, but in the time it took us to change tops, the sun had risen just enough to cause a bit of a sun flare in these photos. Let's just act like this was done for artistic purposes.

We both used a poly blend woven for these versions. They were light and drapey. Be sure to read Sharon's blog post at Sweet Mama Life!

The Chirripo can easily be dressed up or down. I'm wearing mine with knit slacks. I'm most likely to wear these pants with my Chirripo to work with a jacket or cardigan. While Sharon paired her Chirripo with some cute shorts and sandals for a casual but chic outfit.

I did manage to get a few photos of just me in my Orange Chirripo!

Here's a look at the back. It has the same square yoke in the back as the front. The back is just higher.

I love the way this top feels. It's so soft and silky. But this fabric was such a pain to cut! It kept shifting around. The yokes and side pieces gave me the most trouble and I think I cut out 6 yokes before I decided to just line the yoke with a cotton woven.

I love the side panel detail! It's so cool and gives the top a great shape on the sides.

The front gathers are very light - it's not heavily gathered. I gathered using my serger and had to ease them out as it had gathered them too much. But I did end up with beautifully even gathers.

The Chirripo is on sale for one week for $8! I'm eager to make one with a flutter sleeve. I'm also toying around the idea of making one with a cotton woven yoke and side panels, but a knit body.

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. These links provide me with a small compensation if you make a purchase using my link. There is not cost to you when you do this. My thoughts and opinions given in this blog post are mine.