Sun Surf Halter

Sun Surf Halter is Complete!

http://www.fiveeighthseams.com/product-p/p-ab-halter.htm

I finished the Amy Butler Sun Surf Halter today which felt a little ironic seeing as it was rainy and cool outside.  I wore it to work tonight anyway despite the weather.

After sewing the halter top, I realize that Amy Butler deserves my apologies since I complained about the difficulty of the details in her other patterns.  This halter top wasn't difficult at all and was a fast project to complete.  There are only 4 pattern pieces to cut out and only the front of the halter is lined.  Amy also deserves props because of all the different sizes available with this one pattern.  The pattern includes girl's sizes extra-small to large and women's sizes extra-small to XXX-large!  The XXX-large pattern is for women with bust measurements of 48 inches, an often difficult size to find patterns to fit.  I have many frustrated customers who want to sew the patterns in our store but many designers do not have sizing to accomodate larger chested women.  Many of the patterns aren't sized for the "normal woman" which doesn't make alot of sense, but this pattern fits a wide variety of body types!  Also, Amy suggests that a mother and daughter could make this top together, and with women and child sizes available, it would be easy to do.  This project is simple enough for a child to complete with guidance, proven last week when one of our kid's sewing camp members (Raquel, 10 years old) sewed this top.                    


Now for some other "sewer beware" tips I wish I had known before starting.
The completed sun surf halter top was much longer than I anticipated.  When I first tried it on without hemming it, my husband thought I made a short summer dress because the bottom of the shirt hit mid thigh (a horrible length for a short, pear shaped body type like mine!).  I ended up removing six inches to get the shirt to a length that was flattering on me.  Also, I needed a much smaller size than what I anticipated.  I have a 34 inch bust measurement so I made the size small.  It was huge on me, so I had to take the shirt apart to make it smaller.  The finished top also flared out more than I prefer...it looked more like a maternity shirt which is another reason I made it smaller.  Once I changed the size of the shirt and the length, I was happy with it.  I just wish I had known to choose a much smaller size before I began because the top would have been finished much faster. I love that this shirt is made out of 100% cotton fabric which makes it a crisp, cool summer top perfect for Charleston.  I'm looking forward to actually wearing it on a sunny day unlike today where I had to put a cardigan on over it to keep myself warm!