I think I’m ready to venture into more adult sewing, and there’s no better way to do that than by just getting a pattern and following it, right?  So, about a month ago, I pinned this pattern to my Sewing for Me board.  It’s the Roza blouse and dress pattern by Kate and Rose.

 I think a sweet peasant top is a good staple in any girl’s wardrobe and this one looked pretty perfect.  I did some digging on the web, but I couldn’t find many variations out there.  So I emailed the pattern designer, Kati, and asked her if she knew of any examples out there in sewing blog-land to link me to.  She explained that the pattern had just been released, so no, there weren’t many variations yet, but would I be interested in sewing one up if she sent me the pattern?

Um…why, YES I would!

The Roza is pretty much everything you’d want and expect from a peasant top – roomy, lightweight, casual but feminine.  And guess what?  It’s a super fast sew… no really, it is!  Piecing together and cutting the pattern took the longest for me, but that’s usually the case with a pdf pattern in my house – it ends up on the kitchen table along with all the other junk and then I have to re-sort through all the pages, etc… you know the drill.  But still,  it’s pretty convenient to just print something off at your house and get working when you get a burst of creative energy (even if it lasts only 20 minutes).

There are several ways to customize the Roza- short or long sleeves, cropped or asymmetrical hemline, gathered or flat front…just check it out, guys.  And if you have any interest in hand-embroidery (i love this Roza), you must visit her site.

The long-sleeves are bracelet length, and the cuffs are actually supposed to look like this:

But I loved the look of the wide cuffs, so I decided to leave them instead of folding them in as the pattern instructs.  I believe that in most sewing patterns, there’s a little wiggle room to add your own twist.  You just gotta go with what you’re feeling.

I sewed a Medium, but extended my pieces to the Large in length.  I’m 5’11” and often things just aren’t long enough on me.

I mean, c’mon…Do you see that wing-span up there?

I really should’ve extended the length in the front another inch or so though… I like the cropped front, but on me it’s just a little *too* cropped.

I have never been sure about high-low hemlines- a look I feel that I’m too old for… their ‘business in front, party in the back’ attitude sometimes just plain confuses me.  Oh wait, that’s the mullet.  But, I decided to give it a go anyway.  A high-Low that is.  Not a mullet.

  Getting time to stroll through the fabric store is a total luxury, and one that doesn’t happen often these days, so online fabric shopping it is!  I have had my eye on this print for ages – Art Gallery voile in Praline in Honey .  I love the colors, and it’s a nice yellow that actually looks okay on me (usually yellow is NOT my color!).  The cuffs are solid voile in Seafoam.

I’m really liking the contrast.

Taking photos of yourself is a lot less awkward when there are kids in the room.  Grant was my lighting technician, adjusting the blinds every 6 seconds.

While Ellery manned the camera remote.  It made things a lot more comfortable.

 Kinda like this top!

Kati has been so kind to offer one of you lovely readers a Roza pattern!  Please leave a comment below and cross your fingers….

-Erin

Giveaway is open to all and will end on Saturday at 11:00 pm EST.  Winner will be chosen (probably by my kid) at random.

**Giveaway is now closed**

Congrats to #11, Grabill!