This Isla is one of my favorites. Shhhh don’t tell my other Islas! It was meant to just be a whip-it-up-quick sample (read: don’t look too closely) to check the original pattern before we started working on grading it almost a year ago, but I’ve ended up wearing it quite a bit because it’s just ridiculously comfortable. The fabric is a lightweight lycra jersey with some with 4-way stretch that I purchased from Girl Charlee last year (full disclosure: Girl Charlee is a past sponsor of this blog), so it’s super stretchy and swingy. Knit fabrics with lycra or synthetic content can be a little harder to sew with than more stable knits like interlocks, but they are definitely very forgiving when it comes to fit. Unfortunately, this print is no longer available, but I think the other cotton lycra fabrics from Girl Charlee would probably behave similarly.

My big mistake with this top is that I threw it in the dryer, so it’s pilled up a bit, which fortunately you can’t really see because of the black background. You can prevent pilling in knits that have synthetic content by washing them inside out on gentle cycle and then line drying them. I honestly did not know about the line-dry thing until very recently when I read this fantastic article on IndieSew (full disclosure: IndieSew carries my sewing patterns) that not only talks about caring for rayon jersey (scroll down to the bottom), but also has a great section about how the quality and type of the knit affects the fit of the garment. This is a must-read if you gravitate toward stretchy knits.

I pretty much nailed the neckband. See how smug I look in the photo below?

The Isla Sewing Pattern comes with both a top and a dress option, and is now available in my shop!

Aztec Isla Top

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