I participated in one last testing before I had to pack away my sewing machine for the move. It is the Bellavista Top from Itch-to-Stitch. The Bellavista Top comes in a comfortable swing bodice with a center-front panel. It also comes with two neck options and two sleeve options. I choose the cowl neck and long sleeve version.
Fabric:
I had this sweater knit in my stash for years now, and I have often tried to figure out what to do with it. As it is really bulky it took up a lot of space in my stash and I wanted to get rid of it. I thought the Bellavista Top would be a good pattern for this fabric. And it is. the cowl turned out to be really big, but I like it. I am not sure about the fiber content of this fabric. From the feel I would say there is some poly in it and it is a bit scratchy, but I can wear it on my skin. I always thought I have a lot of this fabric (as I said, it took up a lot of space), but in the end I did have to piece the second cowl piece. The fabric width was not the usual 140 cm, but somewhat smaller. The good side is, that I do not have scraps left.
Alterations:
I sewed a size 4. This is one size bigger than usual, but the pattern calls for a 50% stretch knit fabric and my fabric is not that stretchy. I did not want to end up with a tight sweater in a thick fabric. As it turned out, this decision was the right one. Else I did not make any alterations. The fit is quite loose below the bust area.
Construction:
The Bellavista Top is an easy pattern. Due to the bulky fabric I serged each edge, sewed the seam on my usual sewing machine and pressed the seam open. I had tried before on a sample to serge both seam allowances together, but the result was a really stiff and bulky seam.
I found it unusaul that the cowl neck is a double layer, which means you have two identical pieces sewn together. This way you will never see a left side of fabric showing in case the cowl shifts during wear. I could have reduced a bit of the bulk and use a lighter weight knit for the inner cowl, but I decided against it. I did want to get rid of my fabric and I did want to have an oversized cowl.
Conclusion:
Easy to sew and easy to wear. Dependent of the fabric choice this top can have a lot of different looks. Check out the other testers’ versions. Due to the center front panel you can even create the illusion of wearing a cardigan over a top. I did not yet wear my Bellavista very often as it just wasn’t cold enough. But maybe winter is still coming.
