Category: zero waste

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Lawrence Top Tester Recap

I wanted to put together a special post to highlight my testers final garments. I would not have been able to complete the Lawrence Top sewing pattern without their wonderful help. I really enjoyed working with these women and seeing their finished garments makes me very happy. Thank you again for all your help!

What is great about the pattern is it’s versatility; not only in how you wear the garment, but also how it can work with different types and sizes of fabric. Seeing all the tester versions next to each other really highlights how flexible this pattern is.

Andrea made View B in a lightweight viscose from her stash. Due to the size of the fabric, she didn’t make the low/high hemline. She also used a different piece of lightweight fabric for the interior yoke. Both of these mods are great places to change up the pattern if you have less fabric than recommended. If you click through on her post, you can see her pattern pieces all cut and laid out, along with the very minimal waste she has when finished.

Eli made View A in a more structured gingham cotton. I love how she styled the top in a variety of ways; over jeans, layered with a cozy scarf, and open as a jacket/cardigan. I really enjoy wearing oversized button-up shirts over tank tops, so this will definitely be my go to way to wear the tunic this spring.

Sarah made View A in viscose rayon. She used a wide cut of fabric and was able to lay out her pattern pieces with the fabric grain, as apposed to cross-grain that the pattern calls for. The top is wonderfully drapey and looks good open or closed.

Rebecca made View A in a crisp, white linen. Rebecca styles the tunic with and without a turtleneck showing that the top can be worn throughout many seasons. Rebecca has plans to make another tunic, but making it a bit narrower by adjusting the width of the front and back panels. She also mentioned the idea of modding the pattern into a dress and now I’ve been thinking about ways to make one for myself.

Rose made View B out of a beautiful piece of linen. She made size 2 as her bust size fits right on the lower end of the size range. I love how she styled the cropped top with cozy linen pants. I can’t wait to see her tunic version.

Michelle (@zoetemeyer) made View A in a drapey rayon. Due to the size of fabric she had, she rearranged the pattern pieces and ended up making a longer, narrower version of the top, with a low/high split hemline. She also omitted the seam facing details and instead used this leftover fabric to test her buttonholes. It’s nice to see how she took the pattern pieces and moved them all around the fabric she had to make it work.

Elana (@the_solstice_studio) made a View B of the top. She had a lot of wonderful ideas to mod/hack the pattern: “I thought of a number of ways to use excess fabric or mistakes to keep the top zero waste including ruffles, a tied bow at the front, sleeve details, making an even longer top that’s actually a dress (I fantasized about a dress version of option B the entire time I worked on it, cinched at the waist with a ribbon made from excess fabric or a belt), or even longer sleeves for a winter version of option B.”

Thank you again to my testers! I hope seeing these finished tops gives everyone some inspiration and I look forward to seeing many more finished Lawrence Tops. I would love to see not only your finished garment, but also your process – post on Instagram using #zwlawrencetop and #goldfinchlimited.

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Lawrence Top – Side Seam Facings for View B

During the testing phase for the Lawrence Top a few people suggested that I include photos to show how the side seam facings are sewn. This is a technique that is not used often so there is not a ton of visual reference to be found.

I photographed a step-by-step tutorial to show how the side seams facings are sewn into the top. While this tutorial is specific to View B, the concept can be applied to the single seam facing for View A.

While designing the Lawrence Top, I wanted to find uses for all the fabric cutoffs to make the design zero waste. The neckline cutouts are perfect for seam facings and create a nice finished look. For View B of the top, the split seams required 2 sets of facings. While working through the pattern piece layout I needed to plan accordingly to accommodate for both sets of facings.

Originally, I had planned for two sets of triangles to be the seam facings at the split seam. During my testing, I discovered that my triangles for the second set of seam facings were not mirrored images of themselves like facings created from the neckline cutout. This created a problem if you are using a fabric that has a definite “right” and “wrong” side. So I adjusted and made the facings into rectangles. In the end, it creates an interesting design detail and finishes the seams nicely.

I hope this tutorial is helpful when putting in the side seam facings. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have further questions –  emily@goldfinch.design

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Introducing the Lawrence Top

I’m very excited to introduce you to the Lawrence Top, a zero waste PDF sewing pattern. The Lawrence Top comes in two different views. View A is a tunic length top with 3/4 length sleeves and inseam pockets. View B is a cropped top with a low/high hem, short sleeves and patch pockets. The top is designed to have an oversized fit and comes in two size ranges.

Size 1 has a finished bust circumference of 58″/147cm and is intended to fit bust of 32″-44″/81cm-112cm.

Size 2 has a finished bust circumference of 70″/178cm and is intended to fit a bust of 46″-56″/117cm-142cm.

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The inspiration for the Lawrence Top began with a thrifted ready-to-wear top that I picked up a few years ago. The shirt is a short sleeved, button up tunic with a large overlapping pleat in the back. While the shirt is not necessarily ground breaking in style, it is definitely a staple in my wardrobe. I love how easy it is to wear a variety of ways.

I’ve been dreaming of ways to recreate this top and I knew I wanted to include a yoke and pleats, but I also wanted pockets and some sleeve options. Most of these thoughts stayed in my head for quite awhile. Ideas and thoughts about pleat placement, etc. would come to me at random, but acting on these ideas took some time.

After seeing some examples of zero waste sewing patterns, I finally took the plunge and got to work on my own design. When I started the process, I decided on a fabric size to be the base of the design. I wanted to use a fabric size that was a standard width and length, but I also wanted the design to be flexible enough to work even if the fabric dimensions were off by a few inches/cm.

Much of the design process involved moving and adjusting the puzzle pieces to fit within the fabric dimensions. I began to see the pattern as more of a concept, or a formula, that could be changed and adjusted to meet the sewist needs. Do you want it smaller or bigger? Longer or shorter? Not a problem – some quick adjustments to the fabric dimensions and you can make a garment that suits your needs. Throughout the pattern, I hope to provide the tools necessary to make any needed changes.

The pattern is different than your typical home sewing pattern. The pattern is based on only squares, rectangles and triangles. The cutlines are be drawn directly on the fabric using the provided pattern layout and dimensions. Printing out pattern pieces is not required for this process so there is no paper waste or taping required.

The Lawrence Top is designed to be zero waste, meaning all of the required fabric is used. This is achieved by using the cutoffs to create interesting finishing details. The neckline cutouts become a yoke facing, a hang loop and seam facings. While these details are technically optional, they lend to a nicely finished garment.

Detail of yoke facing and hang loop

While designing the Lawrence Top, I thought about different ways it could be worn throughout the seasons and in various ways in your wardrobe. The tunic can be worn with leggings or jeans, open as a cardigan, or over a turtleneck. The cropped top can be worn with high waisted pants and skirts, over a dress, with a cardigan, or over a turtleneck. There are many possibilities to make each top wearable in a variety of ways.

Over the next few months I have plans to show you a few ways the pattern can be hacked, along with additional ways to style the Lawrence Top. My hope is that this top brings many options and creativity to your closet.

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