Woven Tie Top in Black - Butterick 3250

Have you noticed? Tie tops are everywhere! It took me a minute to adjust to this style, having been very over it back in the 80s. I remember it was everywhere, but the iconic look showed a tie top over a leotard worn with tights and leg warmers.

Flashback to Olivia Newton John...

Now I am seeing tie tops all over the place - if you haven't noticed this trend yet, just look on Pinterest.

I purchased this striped skirt/dress several months ago - in April I think. (I plan to talk more about it in another post.) You can wear it as a skirt, doubling the wide waistband, or pull it up over the bust and wear it as a dress.

The days are long gone (if they ever existed) that I would wear a bandeau style, so I wanted to make some sort of coverup. I actually bought another pattern to make a knit coverup, then I lost it. Meanwhile, Margy made this tie top, using Butterick 3250, an OOP pattern for wovens.

(Ironically, I just checked the copyright on this pattern and it's dated 1985.)

I don't know about you, but I want most everything Margy makes, and this was no exception. I tracked down a copy of the pattern (which was in horrendous shape, but that's another story). The fabric was purchased a long time ago from FabricMart. Originally I had bought enough to make a voluminous skirt, but I decided to use it for this. The fabric is black with circles. The edges of the circles are raw and so they are a little frayed, creating a great texture. The entire fabric is also just-so-slightly glittery and transparent. It's 100% cotton (sans glitter) and very lightweight, almost like a voile.

I do not, as a rule, like glitter and shine, but I am getting used to it. Dare I say, I even like it? The dress has a silver thread running through the white stripe, so they complement each other. The cotton fabric is so soft - it makes me want to sing "The touch, the feel, of cotton. The fabric of our lives!"

This pattern sews up amazingly fast, with its dolman sleeves, cut on facings, and no buttons or buttonholes. I used the size 14, my new "standard" size, but there is lots of ease in the pattern. I didn't need to add any width for my bust, so I did a vertical only FBA. I added 1.5 inches in length, using a side seam dart.

Vertical only FBA. From the bust point, I angled the FBA down to the side seam. Had I kept it straight across, it would have ended in the armhole curve.

There is a pleat at center back.

I love this little top! I think I will be getting a lot of wear out of it.