Stitch Witch Patterns Basque top and Sew Over It Giselle skirt in Paper Raven Co Cotton by Alice-May

Hi I’m Alice-May, also known as @thestitchedit and I’m thrilled to be sharing this co-ord of dreams I made with the softest cotton known to exist. As soon as I felt the Paper Raven Co cotton I knew I wanted to wear it all the time, so what better project to choose for it than a top and skirt that can be worn together and as separates? Triple the outfit options!

The Top

This cotton is a lovely medium weight, with a bit of body whilst not being super stiff. Therefore I knew it would work well with a fitted bodice that needed to hold its shape, and some statement sleeves. Enter The Stitch Witch patterns basque top. I’ve made this top before so had already put in the work to toile it to perfection in a similar weight fabric so I knew there would be no pesky fit issues to sort out. I made a few adjustments to the pattern style to make it more suitable for what I wanted:

•  I lowered the neck 1.5cm to make it sit at my preferred height for square necks
• I curved the hem instead of having a point in the centre, simply because I wanted a different look to the top I’ve made previously with this pattern.

The top turned out lovely, and I found some pretty green and gold buttons in my stash that contrasted nicely with the pink.

The Skirt

For the skirt I again wanted something that I’d made before as, well you know how it is, sometimes you just want something easy! For this I chose the skirt section of the Sew Over It Giselle dress. I also made a couple of small adjustments to this to make it a skirt pattern:

•  I used bias binding instead of drafting a facing as I personally prefer the look and feel of a thin waistband.
• And of course, the leg slit was raised to above the knee.
• One thing I didn’t do which I’ll go back and adjust is shorten the skirt as it is looooong. Sew Over It patterns always come up way too long for me so this is pretty standard, I just didn’t think of it when I was sewing. Other than that I love it!

My favourite thing about this project was how comfortable each piece is to wear. It really encourages me to reach for them. And it’s such a bonus that they are so easy to style as well. I’d definitely look out for other prints by Paper Raven Co again. Don’t sleep on sewing with cotton, it’s not just for beginners!