Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Non-Holiday Holiday Batik Maya Top


It's been a while since I've sewed anything from one of my favorite patterns, Marilla Walker's Maya!


I'm calling this my non-holiday holiday top because of the color scheme. It's a red and green batik from Indonesia with two striped borders. The colors are somewhat Christmas-y, but the design isn't...


You can see a close-up of the batik, along with my labels from the Dutch Label Shop (which I love when I remember to sew them on!) above. I ended up doing some pattern and fabric Tetris to get the pieces the way I wanted them on the length of batik, not unlike the time I made Tim that shirt from a length of batik with a wide double facing.


At first I made a dress version of the Maya, but I found it to be too much (too much volume and color?) and it didn't look good belted, so I cut it off at shirt length.


I opted to draft a hem facing for the curved hem, which I love! I feel like it balances the shirt, weight-wise, since the shirt has neck and sleeve facings. I didn't interface any of the facings, but I did top stitch them all down.

I used the striped border to make the neck and arm facings. I considered having the facings on the outside, but then I thought it too Christmas-y and reconsidered. I didn't have quite enough of the stripe for the hem facings, too.


I just love the Maya top. Simple, comfy.  I have worn my purple batik version to death... it's so faded now! I imagine this one will get a lot of wear, too!


This will be perfect for me to wear this Christmas. We'll be bopping around Sri Lanka's tea country on Christmas and I imagine I'll be cool and comfortable, yet vaguely festive in this top!


Have you sewn anything special for Christmas? What are your thoughts on theme dressing for holidays?