Timpe Tee times two

The following images clearly demonstrate two things:

1) I am well and truly overdue for a haircut.
2) Boxy tops can work for me.

Last year I had a go at a popular boxy style top everyone was raving about. Mine was a disaster! I looked as if I was wearing an oversized shapeless nightgown. I tossed the top into my recycling pile and put a big fat cross on every boxy style top I ever drooled over thinking they would never work for me.

A little while ago Annika showed a group of us a few patterns that she was going to add to her shop. The Timpe Tee pattern by Schneidernmeistern was one of them. I didn't look at it twice. I think a couple more ladies had their reservations about a boxy style top. Annika showed us photos of finished Timpe tees. Among them was a top she made herself and Ute's version. I got a little interested. As I was looking through fabric in my stash that I could potentially add to a recycling pile Anna published her Timpe tee. That was it! I decided to give this boxy style top a go.

Timpe tee does look fabulous in stripes. I didn't have any stripes, but I had some cheap ponte in awesome mustard colour. I bought it last year from Spotlight for a different project I never got around to making (I bet I am not the only one with an unrealistic To Sew list). Someone mentioned that this style looks good in fabric that can hold shape.

According to the size chart I fit into size 36, so that's what I went with. The pattern does not have seam allowance, but adding it didn't take long at all. The pattern is designed for a 170 cm tall person - perfect for me!

Ah, I love facings!

I made the first top in one night. I put it on and stood in front of the mirror not expecting to see anything flattening. But oh boy! I loved what I saw! The fit was spot on. The length was perfect. The shape of the neckline was just right. The reflection in the mirror did not resemble a nightgown. It was a chic top that I instantly fell in love with.

In fact, I loved my top so much I rushed to House of Cloth at the first opportunity looking for awesome fabric to make another Timpe tee!

Elizabeth showed me this funky lightweight ponte. I never knew lightweight ponte existed. This stuff is so cool! It is just as easy to sew as regular ponte. It holds the shape well and drapes nicely, and it is much lighter. Also, this ponte is rayon based, so it feels much nicer against the skin. The quality of this fabric is much better than the mustard ponte I used for the original top, yet the difference in price was insignificant.

I tried my best to match the print. The result is not perfect, but it is close enough.

The only difference between the tops is that I used 2 cm out of allocated 3 cm hem allowance for the sleeves for the black one. If you look closely you will see a little wrinkling along the hemline on the sleeves of the mustard top. There is no wrinkling on the black top. Once I hemmed the sleeves and the bottom of the tee I realised the distance between the edges and the first row of the motif was the same! I did a little happy dance.

While there is no denying Timpe tee looks amazing in stripes, I absolutely adore the bird prints Thao and Emi used. And how cool is the print Mary chose for her Timpe tee? We could nearly match!

If you would like to see if Timpe tee pattern works for you, Annika offers a 15% discount on this pattern as well as a few more latest additions to the shop until the 28th of April.