![](http://goldandsilverstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/acs_0080.jpg)
Can you still call it pattern hacking if it is your own poor-planning that is to blame…? While I absolutely love this finished smock top, getting to this point involved plenty of playing jenga with pattern pieces, adding in additional seam allowances and changing a pretty big element from the original design! I think it is only fair to highlight the I mistakes made — making mistakes and working around these challenges are so important to grow and improve as a sewist — but I really don’t think it detracts from the finished garment, which is as swishy and dreamy as I envisioned!
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Let’s start with the positives. The Tilly and the Buttons Indigo Smock Top & Dress was introduced in autumn last year and absolutely took the sewing world by storm. I have seen so many beautiful versions sewn up in the last few months, so I was desperate to make my own version. It is such a comfortable and versatile garment, and has some really lovely touches — the frilled seam at the waist, the flounce sleeves (ahem…) and the dipped back. It is graded for a ‘Confident Beginner’, as there is nothing here that is too tricky — Tilly and the Button instructions are incredibly easy-to-follow and the only part that is killer is unpicking the endless gathering stitches (I swear, gathering will be the end of me…).
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More positives: this beautiful viscose has a print of shells, anemones and reeds that was designed by Léa Maupetit; I really don’t think I have seen anything quite like it before! The fabric is from Make My Lemonade, a Parisian brand that sells both sewing patterns and fabrics from its own RTW fashion collections — this is an awesome, sustainable concept and I would love it if more fashion brands followed suit. I am already eyeing up some more of their colourful fabrics available and seeing how the RTW versions are styled is giving me some serious inspiration!
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https://www.makemylemonade.com
This viscose is of a really good quality and was easy to cut and sew, and the whole garment as a whole came together pretty quickly. In terms of adjustments, I followed the Tilly and the Buttons tutorials on fitting the Indigo smock top to make sure I had enough ease at the bust and I also finished my seams as French seams, including at the armhole of the sleeves! French seams really elevate any garment and keep things pretty on the inside.
![](https://goldandsilverstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/acs_0084-scaled.jpg)
Now onto the “hack”…! The viscose is 140cm wide and only 1.5m was available; despite Indigo requiring 1.7m x 150cm, I am fairly used to how much fabric is leftover when making garments from the “Big 4” pattern companies, so I merrily ordered anyway. Whoops, turns out indie pattern companies really utilise every last scrap of fabric! The back bodice should be cut out on the fold, but I had nowhere near enough fabric to manage that, so I added ⅝in to the centre back foldline and cut two bodices. Unfortunately, I did not have enough fabric to pattern match at the back seam, which is a pity.
![](https://goldandsilverstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/acs_0085.jpg)
As I mentioned above, Indigo should have flounces added to the sleeves and they both also need to be cut on the fold. I was jenga-ing around with pattern pieces for quite a while and eventually managed to squeeze them onto my fabric when I shaved off a couple of inches of the pattern width. Bad idea. I had justified it to myself as “Just make sure not to gather too tightly and it will be fine!”, but as soon as I pinned the flounce to the sleeve, I realised there was no way I was going to be able to squeeze my arm through it. At that point, I was tempted to just finish the sleeve with a narrow hem to be done with it!
Deep down though, I didn’t want to give up and knew I wanted something to make the sleeves as exciting as originally planned. So I made these narrow ruffle cuffs to finish the sleeve and you know what? I am really chuffed with how pretty it looks. It may be a slight departure from the original design for the sleeve, but I think it works and it is uniquely mine.
![](https://goldandsilverstitches.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/img_0817-1-scaled.jpeg)
Labels by Kylie and the Machine
Sewing is about pushing yourself and learning from mistakes. When I make the Indigo smock top again — and I certainly will, it’s a fabulous pattern and so comfy — I will know to not skimp on the fabric requirements!
Love! Way to make lemonade out of lemons on the sleeves!
Thank you! 🙂 Still have a lot to learn and improve on, but I do think these small ruffle cuffs are a cute element!