Suri Top in Marimekko Fabric

I thought the Suri Top was the perfect pattern for this Marimekko fabric –  this 1963 design by Finnish designer Maija Isola is called Melooni. Marimekko still sells it in other colorways. I got this medium-weight cotton fabric years ago and it had been in my stash for a long time. You’re supposed to cut your fabric on the fold but the design of the fabric isn’t a perfect oval so I traced the pattern twice and taped it together so I could better position the pattern on the unfolded fabric. This meant my pattern piece was huge. The sleeves AND the body are all one pattern piece. And then there’s the facing and the small neck/shoulder inserts.

The main pattern piece went all the way to the selvage. I was using every bit of the width of my fabric!

I did not make a muslin because there is a lot of ease in this design. What I did not account for is the neckline being the same in the front and the back – basically a straight line. The front really needs more of a curve. If you have made any boat neck tops, the front always dips slightly lower in front, right? Well, it’s not comfortable having the fabric right against your neck. I may unpick it and adjust that front neckline.

The instructions are generally OK, but they neglect to tell you to clip notches at the curves at the armpit area. That area will not be smooth if you don’t do that. They rate it as a 1 in terms of difficulty on a scale of 1 to 5. I think an confident beginner could make it. The neckline is the trickiest part. There’s a facing and two small pieces of fabric on both sides of the neckline near the shoulders.

The instructions also don’t say anything about trimming down the seam allowance at the corners of the neckline, which will reduce the bulk at the very narrow part of the neck opening.

The instructions call for topstitching the hems and facing. I hand stitched them because I didn’t want any top stitching on top of this beautiful fabric. Because I didn’t quite have enough fabric width and my selvages were white at the sleeve hems, I made facings with the leftover fabric for the sleeve hems. I didn’t want white on the inside sleeve.

I would sew it again if the fabric inspired me but I would add a curve to the front neckline. I made size L (bust 100-104 cm). My bust is 39″ and I’m an A cup.

You can see more photos of this top on my blog here. [Note on the hat – the pattern is from vintage McCall’s pattern 8254. I used red wool felt to make it.]