I’ve been really into boxy and flowing tops this year… but as we head back into the school year, I felt like maybe I should make a few more polished items. I’ve been obsessing about sewing neckline keyholes lately, so I combined the two goals into one top!
The pattern is one of my all-time favourites: the Comino Cap dress. Seriously, this has been the pattern that keeps on giving: I’ve used the dress as-is, the bodice with other skirts, the skirt with other bodices, the t-shirt pattern, and now, a short version of the dress as a peplum blouse.
The fabric is so pretty, isn’t it? I love a floral on a dark background. It’s an ITY, which worked against me a bit… My neck and sleeve bands came out a bit tight, which is gathering the shirt up and making the waist sit higher. Truth be told, It’s probably time to reprint the pattern and cut a bigger size – my pattern is labelled with little prompts to cut on the fly, like “add 1 inch here!” That said, it’s totally wearable like this, so I’m not going to fret too much! In a rayon, the size is just right.
The keyhole is low-tech: I used a scrap of fabric as a facing, and freehand sewed a shape I thought would work. It’s trimmed and topstitched, and that’s it! I serged the neckband as normal, pinning either side of the keyhole to get the right spacing. I handstitched the serged seam allowance up towards the neckband so it wouldn’t show through the keyhole. Super simple!
Oh, and the pants? Jeggings that I made before jeggings was a word! They are Espresso leggings sewn in a stretchy twill sewn in 2014. I know sometimes on blogs we see things when they are new and never again, so I’m trying to mix in some older stuff I still wear.
I’m really pleased how well this dress pattern works as a blouse – I wonder what other TNT dresses are just waiting to be shortened?
Crafting A Rainbow 
Gillian, you look great as usual. And I too love a floral on a black background. They always seem so chic.
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I love the dark background floral fabric too. This top looks super cute on you Gillian — really perfect for the new school year, and will look great layered under a cardigan when the temps plummet. Fantastic keyhole detail!
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love the fabric, and the keyhole was a brilliant idea ;o)
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This is super pretty, Gillian. I recently bought some rayon in a similar print for a summer top – you’ve given me inspiration!
As for dresses to tops, I love buying downloadable Burda patterns, because they often contain several variations on the pattern paper (even if it isn’t stated in the listing/instructions). I have lots of dresses I’ve bought which I now realise have gorgeous shirt variations.
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I like your low tech approach to using a TNT pattern and making it into something new. You’ll get lots of wear out of this one. It looks great on you!
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Gorgeous fabric, and cute neckline! A winning combo. Honestly, I think of almost all dress patterns as potential tops, and vice versa. It’s a great way to save on pattern storage space!
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Super idea, I’m in need of some tops as its nearly autumn here and my skinny jeans will be making an appearance very soon! Looks great on you and I’m a huge keyhole fan.
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I love the keyhole detail and the fabric is beautiful and looks lovely on you
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Lovely. Great use of this pattern!
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Pretty print!!! Another great top Gillian!
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Love the fabric and the neckline detail!
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Love this! You always pick such pretty fabrics!
I’m not much for dresses so most dress patterns I own are because I eyed them with thoughts of tunic and tops. Now I’ll be thinking of adding keyholes to them too 😉
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This looks great! I love that little key hole detail.
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Lovely fabric and the keyhole is a really nice detail!
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Hello, Your shirt is just beautiful. I wish you a nice day and send greetings from Karlsruhe.
Guten Tag, Deine Shirt sind einfach schön. Ich wünsche einen schönen Tag und sende Grüße aus dem badischen Karlsruhe.
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