Hello sew-friends! Today, I have a new, very summery DIY to share with you. I used my own Eva sewing pattern with one minor, but significant adjustment. It's not quite a hack because it's so simple. It's more of a variation. I essentially made the Eva's view B, the peplum top, but I cut the peplum really short so that it's more of a ruffle hem or mini peplum. I think the ruffle hem gives a very sweet, cute look to the design. And it's a little more flirty than the longer peplum.
If you're not familiar, the Eva pattern includes two semi-fitted tops and a sundress, all featuring a square neckline, side bust darts and are fitted at the back with a combination of narrow elastic and criss-crossed lacing. View A is a crop top that ends at the waistline. View B has a ruffled peplum and ends at the high hip. View C is a dress with a calf-length skirt and ruffle at the hem.
The pattern is a hybrid of a traditional pattern that you need to print and a zero-waste style pattern. You will need to print (or project) the front bodice and front facing pattern pieces. The remaining pattern pieces are rectangles that you can draw directly on your fabric (or paper) and then cut out, saving you paper and fabric.
To help you keep track of the rectangular pattern pieces, as well as any notes you have for making the Eva, there's a page in the instruction booklet that you can fill out and record all of your personal details. (See above for a screenshot.)
For my mini peplum version of the Eva top, I cut the peplum pieces 4.5 inches long. I used a .5" seam allowance and 1" hem allowance. So the finished peplum is 3" long. You may want a different length on the peplum, the choice is yours! You could even shorten the bodice a little.
The construction is exactly the same as the original. The adjustment is only to the height of the peplum pattern piece.
You may recognize this ditsy floral fabric from the Elastic Waist Tiered Skirt that I made recently. (Watch the making of on YouTube. Or, read about it on my Substack.) And, indeed it is the same fabric. I bought 4 or 5 yards of this fabric from LA Finch Fabrics. It was a pre-cut deadstock and I thought the pattern was just really pretty and sweet. The fiber is a polyester which I don't usually sew with, as I generally prefer natural fibers, in part because polyester does not biodegrade. I find the poly a little harder to press but it's not too challenging to handle.
Btw, speaking of polyester, I listened to a podcast interview a while ago with the costume designer Quita Alfred, about her work on the film Women Talking. The film is about a group of Mennonite women and she talks about the research she did into their style of dress. She specifically talks about why they use polyester fabrics and the reasons that it works for them. The transcript to the interview is here. Or, listen here.
For today's blog post, I did a bit of experimenting with styling and with photo location. Above is the mini ruffle hem Eva with my self-drafted tiered skirt. Isn’t this just a sweet and romantic outfit? (By the way, the tutorial for this skirt is on my Substack here.)
I moved to Seattle a year ago and it's always tricky to find a new photo taking spot. I am fortunate that my sewing room is very large with lots of natural light. But, I tried a few backyard photos too. Above, I'm posing in front of the shed. Or should we call it a mini barn. ;) The trickiest thing about backyard photos is that the yard slopes. The yard is a work in progress so maybe one day I’ll find the perfect photo spot outside.
I think this is a really fun variation on the Eva and paired with the matching skirt, it's very sweet and cute. But maybe a little costume-y? Maybe. Still, who doesn't need a sweet and sexy floral top for summer parties? I know that my teenage self would have LOVED this top. (In all honesty, this design was inspired by fashion that I loved as a teenager in the mid to late nineties.) And, I think my teenage self would be pretty proud that I designed these garments all by myself. AND, the quality of my sewing has greatly improved in the last 29 years.
There is a full video sewalong for the Eva Tops and Sundress pattern. You can explore those posts below. And if you haven't already, you can buy the Eva pattern here.
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