Hi there! It’s Selfish Sewing Week and I’m here to show what I made with this fabric.

Last year I mentioned to Rachael that I don’t ever think of sewing for myself as selfish but this time it actually was. Why? Because many, many months ago I promised my dear sister I would make her some Bess tops and I still haven’t. Instead I whipped one up for me. Totally selfish. Anyway, sister, your Bess tops are coming. Promise!

Here I am standing awkwardly by the river. I sew quite a bit for myself but rarely blog about it because I find the photo shoot really painful. I cropped my face out of these photos because I’m probably crying, or wincing, or frowning. Or swearing. Anyway, I applaud all of you who sew and photograph and blog, all while looking gorgeous and natural.

The fabric, oh how I love this fabric. It’s Mountain Views tatazumi and I’m smitten with it. Turns out, and you wise ones will already know this, that loving a fabric does not mean it is going to love you, or your skin tone. I love the Bess top but I feel a bit washed out in these neutral tones. I also have no idea what to wear with this colour. Suggestions welcome!

This colorway was also a beast to photograph so I cycled to another place to see if a different background would be better. Turns out this colorway is just a beast to photograph. I sewed up the Bess top as per the pattern instructions with just a couple of modifications. I lengthened the top so that it is somewhere between shirt length and tunic length. I also used cotton lawn bias binding instead of the knit binding Rachael suggests. I like the knit binding method but have a bit of a soft spot for cotton lawn bias tape and always have some handy so went with habit instead.

I love the pleat feature on the Bess top and the shoulder’s clever construction method. I also like how the stripes seem to match up at the pleat there although that was really serendipity at play. Hooray!

This year SSW is hosted by both Rachael from imagine gnats and Kollabora and there are a lot of beautiful things being made. Go have a look and link your projects up too! There is also an indie sewing pattern giveaway happening here. Good luck and happy sewing!