Ha-ppy Friiiiiiday. Today’s a gooood day. Because it’s Friiiiiiiday. And that’s all I’lllllll say!
[picture me singing and dancing to these stupid, made up lyrics curtesy my over-clustered head].
But, you’ve made it through another week, and even found some time to be back here with me, so you deserve a laugh to kick off your weekend.
Cheers!!!
Alright, now that I’ve gotten THAT outta my system, have you lot noticed that B.S.E has been a thing, is still a thing, and will probably be a thing for a while? And by B.S.E I mean Big Sleeve Energy! C’mon, I can’t be the only one who notices big sleeves EVERYWHERE! On the red carpet, over on pinterest, flooding instagram and of course, in my closet :). Shout out to the pattern makers who have been on this trend like white on rice. I mean, how many sewing patterns have you seen over the last couple of months that feature big, glorious sleeves? >>>>> I’ll wait for you to count! Go on.
1,
2,
3,
1067830!!!!
I, for one, am totally here for B.S.E and as far as I’m concerned, the bigger, the betta! If you’ve seen the new pattern from Marsha Style, the Cortney Top/Dress, then you already know that it fits squarely into the B.S.E camp and now, squarely into my closet!
Y’all, I saw Taree tease this pattern back in August and I eagerly anticipated its release. For one, the sleeves drew me right in, but you already knew that; and for two, she named it after my woman-crush-sewist Cortney of @s.is.for.sew on the ‘Gram. I just luuurrrvvee me some her. She does no wrong in my sewing book – none… nada… zilch! So, unsurprisingly, I was all over this pattern once it finally dropped.
Side Bar: Anybody else rushes to buy a pattern, and then ‘forgets’ about it for a while? I do this a lot. Mannnnn life is just seeewwww busssyyyy sometimes – too many patterns to sew, not enough time.
I confess that I own a couple other Marsha Style patterns. They are neatly filed away in my digital pattern stash, still not printed, still not sewn. sigh. But the Cortney? This one was bought, printed, assembled, cut and sewn in record time [at least for me]!
In case you missed it, Cortney is an oversized top and dress drafted for woven fabrics. The pattern features a slightly dropped shoulder and comes with 2 sleeve options: a pleated sleeve and a set in sleeve with no gathers/pleating. Both the top and dress have a front placket closure and mandarin collar with 3 buttons, so go on and whip out that buttonhole foot again. The best part about this pattern, (other than the sleeves) is its size inclusivity. Cortney starts at a size 2 (bust of 31”) and goes up to size 30 (bust of 59”).
According to the instructions, the pattern is suitable for intermediate sewists and I definitely agree with that categorization! If you’re an advanced beginner, looking to up your sewing game, you could probably give this pattern a try, just take your time.
My body measurements put me in a size 12, but since Cortney is designed to be oversized, I followed some of the testers and opted to size down. I printed off sizes 8 and 10 but went back and forth trying to decide which one I wanted to make. In the end I played it safe and went for a size 10 based on the finished garment measurements. I think the size worked out well because of my fabric choice, a black, white and orange spotted viscose from deep in ma stash. Next time I make this pattern I think i’ll size down to the 8 and see how that looks and feels.
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I opted for the pleated sleeves because duuuhhhh B.S.E. and I am NOT disappointed y’all. These sleeves are every-thang a girl could ask for! The sleeve pattern piece is huge, and I opted to cut mine on the crossgrain to save some fabric. I think the detail gets a little lost with my fabric but the sleeve pillow included with the pattern definitely helped to add a little dimension. Perhaps, if you’re using a more structured fabric, you can skip the pillow.
Even though I’ve been sewing for over 3 years, this was my first time sewing a tower placket! I gotta be honest… I struggled a little with the written instructions for the placket, I guess because the construction was so foreign to me. Thankfully Taree has a video sew-along on her website for the Cortney, and that made a world of difference for me. F.Y.I, thats another perk of supporting indie pattern companies – lots of extra resources to help you along!
I absolutely love how my Cortney came together. For photos, I french tucked it into black jeans, and pulled out my black vans. Yourcolorguru says black is my power colour… so here we go with more black on black on black. Trust me when I say I’ll be sporting this top at the bar, and at the bar table (hahaha. Lawyer, bar table.. get it? lol).
Anyways, Christmas is coming, so tell Jolly Ole Nick (Santa) to put this pattern on your gift list. If you can’t wait the 43 days until Christmas Day [yes, I AM counting], and you want a chance to get in on this Big Sleeve Energy, I’m hosting a giveaway over on my instagram that runs from today until midnight EST on November 16th 2021. One lucky person will win a pdf copy of the Cortney top/dress so head on over for the details.
Gotta luv ya and leave ya…
Until next time,
xoxo
unsewcial.com 
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