Matcha Top – Sew Liberated

I’ve made 2 matcha tops mow, both sleeveless ones. One in a lightweight-but-not-massively-drapey cotton, and now this one in viscose challis from Minerva.
The first time I made it, I was concerned about how much fabric there was in the back, and I took out several inches ( most of the gathering) from the back so that it was less voluminous. It worked really well. This second one is in very soft drapey fabric, and to be fair would probably have been fine as per the pattern. But I did the same modification again ( as I didn’t have enough fabric otherwise) and I’m happy with the result
The shoulder detail is rather clever : it looks like a conventional yoke, but its less fiddly than a yoke to sew. I actually sewed the shoulder seams WRONG sides together so that the seam allowances would get hidden inside the shoulder detail. When attaching the collar to the gathered neckline, there is an instruction to ensure that a third of the gathers are towards the front opening, but what I think it means is that MOST of the gathers are in the centre portion near the neck opening. Certainly I found my neckline worked best with almost all of the gathers concentrated near to the centre front opening.
I really do like this pattern. At some point I’ll do the sleeved version as that looks great too
As for sizing, i made a size smaller than my actual measurements would have suggested, and it feels the right size.
I definitely recommend the pattern, but not necessarily for a total beginner, as there are some fiddly bits.