Crafty Bloggers' Club - Karen's Nora Top

Posted by Sarah Wadey
on November 01, 2020

This weeks Crafty Bloggers' Club post is from Karen, you can find more of her makes on Instagram @sew.little.time and on her Youtube Channel Sew Little time

Hi everyone, I’m Karen from Sew Little Time and I’m so excited to be sharing my Nora Top as part of the Crafty Sew & So Bloggers' Club this month.
 
Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora sweatshirt by Tilly and the Buttons
 
I’ve been noticing a severe lack of cosy and comfy loungewear garments in my wardrobe recently and I have been actively trying to add more of this into my sewing. I live in a 1930’s house and I really notice and feel the cold during the Autumn/Winter months, so really need something snuggly to wear to keep me warm.

I’m a huge fan of Tilly and the Buttons patterns as her style usually suits my body shape, and I can make her patterns with minimal alterations. However, I wasn’t initially taken by the Nora Top when it was first released, as it is very oversized and boxy in its shape, but as usual I’d seen a few versions on Instagram that looked lovely, so thought I’d give it a go.

I chose to use this very vibrant French Terry fabric, which has a rich teal background with lots of flowers and butterflies all over it and I thought it was something very different and fun to what I usually go for and would brighten up a dull day. (Note from Kim - we have sold out of this fabric, but it's so lovely, we have ordered another bolt and expect it to arrive in 3-4 weeks)
 
A picture of the Nora sweatshirt dressmaking pattern by Tilly and the Buttons and the jersey fabric used in the blog post
 
For Tilly’s patterns I usually make a size 4, but size down for anything that is made for stretch fabrics or has a lot of ease within the finished garment measurements. So as this particular pattern is very generous in size, I opted to make a size 3. I basted the sleeves and side seams first on my standard sewing machine to test fit and realised that it was actually still too big for me, so I unpicked my stitches and re-cut a size 2, which I think fits a lot better.
 
Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora sweatshirt by Tilly and the Buttons

With this pattern there are 3 versions you can make, although you can mix and match the pattern pieces to create your own unique version. I opted to make the cropped sweater with the extra-long sleeves, but decided to omit the stepped hem and have chosen to keep the length of the bodice the same all the way round. The shape of the sweater is very boxy, so the finished garment measurements are exactly the same for the bust, waist and hips.

Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora Top by Tilly and the buttons

I initially wanted to add the funnel neck onto my version, but found that the stretch within the French Terry wasn’t quite enough and I struggled to get it on and off over my head, and as the fabric is quite busy, I didn’t like how it looked so close to my face. I already had some pink ribbing fabric left over from a previous project and decided it would make a nice contrast neckband instead. You will notice my neckband is somewhat thinner than what it should be, and this is because I accidently ended up cutting too much off whilst sewing it on my overlocker. However, I’m going to call it a happy accident as I quite like how it looks.

Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora sweatshirt by Tilly and the Buttons

I have been wearing my Nora Top with a t-shirt underneath, just as a contrast, although it looks nice on its own too….and I’m really happy that I found some teal coloured jeans from my local charity shop recently, which I think completes my outfit nicely.

Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora sweatshirt by Tilly and the Buttons

Overall, the Nora Top is a really quick, easy and satisfying make and it’s great that you can make lots of different versions from one pattern. I certainly want to try out more versions in the future.

Crafty Bloggers' Club model wearing a Nora sweatshirt by Tilly and the Buttons

Thank you very much to Crafty Sew & So for providing me with the opportunity to blog all about this make. I hope you take some inspiration from it. You can follow along with my sewing journey at Sew Little Time on YouTube where I share all my sewing makes and plans and also on Instagram @sew.little.time

Happy Sewing!
Karen xx

“Crafty Bloggers Club Contributors are given products and materials to test from Crafty Sew&So. We hope you enjoy their honest and impartial reviews of the products. All opinions are their own.”