In our sixth ambassador post we welcome Gemma who has chosen some beautiful Atelier Brunette viscose to make the Sew House Seven Romey Top. Over to Gemma:

Hi everyone, I’m so pleased to be doing my first blog post for the lovely Backstitch team as one of their ambassadors. For my first project, I chose to do the Romey gathered top by Sew House Seven. I’ve only made one Sew House Seven pattern before, so I was quite excited to give another one a go.

I found it incredibly difficult to choose a fabric, but I eventually settled on the Atelier Brunette Lucie cedar viscose crepe. I’ve never actually used a viscose crepe before, but the texture and weight of this one is very pleasant to sew with. I’d highly recommend it to someone who hasn’t sewn with viscose before, but is keen to get started, as like I said, there is some weight to it so it doesn’t shift around much whilst sewing.

I made a toile of this top before sewing up my precious Atelier Brunette fabric, as I knew it would come up very over sized. My measurements put me between a 10 and 12 on the pattern, but for my toile, I decided to size down all the way to a 00 - six whole sizes!! It sounds mad doesn’t it, but the finished measurements advised that I could fit into it. I made the toile up with 2” added to the length as I was aware it was going to come up super short. I was right, and even with the 2” added, it was still slightly short for my liking. Sizing wise, it did fit but I didn’t have as much room as I thought, so for the real thing, I sized back up to a size 2 and added 3” of length!

I feel much better about the fit on the final version, the length is good on me, but I do get some drag lines under the arm. Maybe if I sized up again, this would get rid of those as it is meant to be a loose, over sized top.

The pattern instructions for the Romey are excellent, and the whole thing (except the seam attaching the peplum to the top) is french seamed, and the instructions talk you through how to do this. You could sew it without an overlocker if needed, as you could bias bind that peplum seam. It really does have beautifully finished insides!

The bodice has a raglan sleeve which is very easy to attach, but with the french seams, just takes a little longer to put together. It is worth it though.

The only bit I found confusing was attaching the little button loop, but I think my mind was fighting against what it told me to do and I should have just gone with it. It feels like it’s being attached the wrong way round, but you just have to fold it back on itself once attached. If you make it for yourself, you’ll see what I mean!

The neck binding on the pattern is actually a facing, so again, make sure you read the instructions carefully for this.

The sleeves have a lovely amount of volume - that big sleeve energy trend really isn’t going anywhere soon, and I’m glad about that! Gotta love a big sleeve. I really enjoyed this make.

Pattern: Sew House Seven Romey Gathered Top
Fabric: Atelier Brunette Lucie Cedar Viscose Crepe
Size: Gemma measures Bust 37", Waist 31". She made the size 2.
Adjustments: Sized down four sizes, and added 3” of length
About Gemma:
Gemma is an occupational therapist living in Nottingham with her husband and 3 year old son.  She loves to travel and of course sew!
Instagram: www.instagram.com/thedaleythread/
Website: https://thedalythread.com/blog-feed/