Hello! I’ve been in a bit of a sewing rut as I have been tackling a dress that has been driving me mad (not the fault of the pattern at all – I had to do some hacking to fix some accidental literal hacking, and now I am going rogue to try and fix it).
So for the #sewingweekender over on Instagram, I sewed up a pattern I’d not made before but had high hopes for – the Marilla Walker Maya top. I’m loving loose, boxy woven tops at the moment – there is something glorious about pulling clothes in with no zips and buttons. I had some embroidered anglais from Dalston Mill Fabrics that I’d been planning a woven tee with, so it seemed a perfect combo.
The Maya pattern is super versatile and can be a range of tops or dresses – I’m curious to try the button up dress version another time. Instructions are clear and easy to follow, although I didn’t quite understand the sleeve facing and mine aren’t perfect!
The fabric I used had interesting pyramid detail embroidery, which I chose to invert on the pocket as a design feature.
It is a really nice fit – boxy and loose enough to pull on and be comfy, but not totally shapeless.
I had to tweak the neckline at the back. As I was putting together my pattern pieces I realised that my front piece had a flaw in the embroidery and it wasn’t possible to cover it with the pocket due to location. Since the back and front pieces of the tee are almost identical (the back neckline is a smidge higher), I swapped them around and lowered the back neckline. This did mean that my facing then didn’t fit, so I had to adjust that too, meaning my neck facing is very narrow now, but I made it work.
I think I might try to reduce it at the front neckline – it looks to me like it might be slightly too big in the shoulders, although I’m not totally sure – it could also be the effect of having taken fabric out of that back neckline.
I think it will be perfect to wear in summer with some loose trousers and skirts. I’m sure it won’t be my last Maya – indeed, I’ve got some absolutely mad fabric that I think is begging to be a woven boxy top – as it is a very quick and simple pattern, but has nice features.
Sew Pippa 