Minttu Swing Top

A gorgeous top but not without faults. OK, confession time. I ignored the advice to use a jersey /stretch fabric and went with a fresh cotton (for the hot summer weather.) The pattern also looked over fussy with a complicated facing, which I decided to wait to cut out until I’d tried the outer shell on. Surprise! The head hole was way, way, too small to go over my head (in fairness there’s no stretch in the cotton, but it was so small I’d be amazed if a stretch fabric had enough recovery to stop it bagging afterwards). Anyhow, with the help of a mug and a plate I redrew the neckline and cut off the excess fabric. Yeah! It now fitted over my head. Now I was faced with the mother and father of a faff to make the facing fit. Instead, I went the path of least resistance and used self-bias binding. Ta-dah! A lovely top that I’m very pleased with…so pleased I made another tonight in a different (non-stretch) fabric. Moral of the story? Don’t cut out the facing until you check you can get a head through the hole.