Striped Ruby Top with sleeves
Recently I had a sudden spurt of productivity and I cut and sewed most of this top in an afternoon. It was meant to be a test run for a Liberty lawn version I envisioned making using my Ruby pattern (top view) and the Trillium sleeve, and it turned out so well I’m not sure I want to try my luck again with Liberty so soon after this one.
Pattern: Ruby (in my shop) + Trillium Sleeve (free in this post)
Fabric: striped linen + rayon blend from Hart’s Fabrics
I prefer it tucked in, but here’s what it looks like untucked:
As you might have already noticed, I changed a few things on both the original pattern and the sleeve. I’m planning to do a more detailed follow up how-to post, but here are the broad strokes:
I added extra width to the front, back and sleeves for added volume; combined with the flowy fabric, it creates a drama that I absolutely love. I also shortened the front and back to make it land at high hip rather than low hip.
I cut the yokes on the grain (the stripes ran horizontally on this fabric), and the sleeves and front/back on the cross-grain.
I dropped the armpits down an inch (you can see this in the photos below). Extra sleeve volume gathered into a tiny armhole doesn’t have the same dramatic effect as a larger armhole, and lowering it even an inch can really create a difference.
Finally, I added a cuff to the bottom of the sleeve rather than gathering with elastic. I used my Josephine pattern sleeve cuff for this, but it would be cute with the elastic gathered cuff, too. I wanted another place to feature a horizontal stripe, so the cuffs were a good place to do that.
I adore this make. I’m hoping to make a couple more sleeved tops that work well with jeans for my mom uniform this fall, and I’m all in on the balloon sleeve trend. Expect more (plus a follow up tutorial post with a few more details on how to recreate this one) soon.
PS. This isn’t the first time I’ve added the Trillium (formerly Washi) sleeve to Ruby. Check out this post from 2013 for another cute version.