Daisy raglan top
When I was younger, I was crazy about those raglan sleeves baseball jerseys. You know, those jerseys with a white body and colored raglan sleeves. I never got myself one, but it never really left my mind. Now, years later, I am able to sew and I still love raglan sleeves. So that obviously means, we’re sewing a raglan sleeve top!
I’ve had the Old Coast Raglan pattern by Friday Pattern Company for a while. It is a free pattern, which I love because it makes sewing more accessible to a bigger audience. Go Friday Pattern Co.! The instructions say that it is drafted for the male body, which made me label it in my head as ‘unisex’. For most tops, especially tees, that is usually no problem, and I assumed this top would be the same.
What I love about raglan sleeves is that it is the perfect style to mix and match fabrics. Whether it is just color blocking or adding patterned fabrics together, it just works really well! For the top I wanted to make, I had previously bought some lovely viscose jersey. I specifically wanted to use this for a raglan top, so I got an adorable daisy print jersey and a green jersey that matches just perfectly. The fabric choice alone made me super excited for this top. The jersey is soft and slinky and does not have much structure. It is lovely to wear, just not so lovely to run through my overlocker. I’m not sure what was going on, but the bottom layer wanted to slide off, barely catching it in the seam. After sewing the shoulder seams on my overlocker with much anxiety, I decided to continue the rest of the top on my domestic machine with a zigzag stitch. Best decision of the entire project.
The sewing itself was very straightforward, but getting to that point took a little longer than usual. Since the pattern was drafted for the male body, the finished measurements were slightly different than what I’m used to. The chest measurement is the widest and slightly tapers down into the waist and hip measurement. For most women wear, the hip measurement is the widest, because of our curves. This made it tricky to decide on which size to sew. I did not feel like grading between many sizes, and I usually tuck my shirt into my pants, so I decided the hip measurement would be less important. I ended up sewing size S. I also shortened the body and sleeves by quite a bit, otherwise the length would be a mini dress and the sleeves would look like they were washed too hot and shrunk. So I shortened the front and back body by 15cm and the sleeves by 12cm, which was a great call.
The result has some things I like and some things I like less. Let’s start with what I like less, which is the fit. Going into this pattern, I knew it was drafted for the male body, but I was expecting that to be no issue. However, there is quite a lot of excess fabric in the bust/armpit area that looks off. Also, as expected, the hem is hugs my hips, so it doesn’t fall nicely. That problem is averted if I tuck it in, but now I don’t have a choice but to tuck it in. So next time, I should just make sure the finished measurement is wider than my hips, even if it means grading. Regardless of the fit issues, I do think the top is super cute! Style wise, it turned out just as I hoped and the daisy print is just too adorable. The jersey is soft and comfy and great to wear. So, even though there are some fit issues, I’m still happy with the result and I will definitely wear it! Yay for raglan sleeves!
