Lockdown. NZ shops shut. No orange thread for my orange fabric. Order it online from the UK. Exorbitant delivery cost. Suck it up. 

See cool, slouchy long-sleeve top on Instagram. Looks good for Autumn work-from-home wear.

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Buy pdf pattern, start printing. Ink levels low. Go to order ink, sold out. 

Print anyway with low ink. Finally, all 22 pages printed. Cut two of the four sides of A4, stick them all together. Cut out the pattern. It takes two hours to print and cut the pattern. As per reviews, size down a few sizes. End up at size zero.

Every time I pin the fabric it creates holes, it runs and pulls.

Thread arrives. Too thick for my machine needles.

Review other thread I have. Yellow should do. Re-thread machine, start sewing. Thread runs out. 

Review other thread I have. Ok, I’ll use the old black thread a neighbour gave me last week. Re-thread machine, start sewing. Thread snaps. Re-thread machine, start sewing. Thread snaps. Re-thread machine, start sewing. Thread snaps. Patience snaps. Google. Apparently old thread snaps.

Review other thread I have. Ok, I have navy, I’ll use that. Re-thread machine, start sewing. 

Neck hole too small for my head. Re-cut fabric, re-cut neck facing. Machine is unhappy, sews straight stitch in a wiggle.

Disappointed the pattern and instructions aren’t set up with French seams. Without an overlocker the inside of the top is a mess. Not sure if there’s enough ease in the pattern to add French seams, so I go as instructed.

Finally, finished. Try it on, my cool, slouchy long-sleeve, good for Autumn work-from-home top. 

Yuck. Feels like the art apron I had to wear at school. Maybe the fabric is too thick, not drapey enought? The shoulders have a huge pucker at the front and the back, and I have no idea what’s caused it or how to fix it. Size zero and it still feels like a sack.

Re-check the Instagram posts. Photos only show the front, can’t tell if the back and sides look as bad as mine.

Go to bed, mulling on how to fix it. Next morning I wake up thinking about it. Pull out my winning tissue paper pattern. The Wiksten top isn’t quite big enough for the pattern, but I decide to do the best I can with what I have. 

Unpick pockets, placed too wide for new top. Deep breath. Chop off sleeves.

Add bust and back darts. Re-cut sleeves to pattern. French seam body. Topstitching improving. Looking good. 

Try it on. Too tight over the bust and hips. Bust, do-able, hips, not. Shear a couple of inches off the hips to make a crop top. 

Not quite what I had in mind… But in the end I was pretty happy with this cute long-sleeve crop!