Polly Top

This charming piece from the inventive mind of Amanda Walker is just the thing to zhoosh up your wardrobe in 2022. With its square neckline and smattering of polka dots, it’s a gorgeous garment that lends itself nicely to jeans and flats for a lunch get-together, or a smart midi skirt and heels to start the new year in style. Whatever the occasion, you can’t go wrong with polka dots!

Essentials

Fabric, 2m (150cm)
Lightweight fusible interfacing

Suggested fabrics

Light to medium non-stretch wovens, such as microfibre, tissue faille and linen

Sizes

8-24

Cutting guide

Front: cut one on the fold
Back: cut one pair
Sleeve: cut one pair
Front neck facing: cut one on the fold in fabric and one on the fold in fusible interfacing
Back neck facing: cut one pair in fabric and one pair in fusible interfacing
1.5cm seam allowance throughout, except around the neckline where 1cm is used.

Download the pattern from sewmag.co.uk, then print out and follow the cutting guide. Stitch the darts into the front piece from the side edge of the darts to the points marked on the pattern. Press the darts down towards the base. Neaten the side edges of the front and back, across the shoulders of both the front and back and the centre back edges of the back pieces.
Position the front and back pieces together with the right sides of the fabric facing each other, match, pin and sew the shoulder seams together. Press the seam allowances open. Match and stitch the centre back seam from the base of the top. Press the seam allowance open.
Adhere the fusible interfacing to the front and back facings. Match, pin and sew the shoulder and centre back edges together. Press the seam allowance open, then neaten all the way around the outer edges. Lay the top out flat with right sides of the facing up, lay the facing on top with right sides facing down, match the necklines together, pin and stitch around the neckline.
Clip the seam allowances into the points of the neckline, then fold and press the facing to the wrong side of the top. Pin the facing squarely into the neckline and sew on top of the neatened edge of the facing to stop the facing from moving and to create detail around the neckline.
Neaten the side edges of both sleeves. Adjust the stitch length to number 5*, then sew a row of gathering stitches within the seam allowance, around the head of the sleeves starting at the front notch and at the back notches. Match, pin and sew the underarm sleeve seams together with right sides of the sleeves facing. Press the seams open and turn the sleeves to the right side.
Pull the gathering thread slightly to ease the head of the sleeve without gathering it, then place the sleeves, matching the notches, into the armholes of the top. Match the side seams and the underarm seam of the sleeves together and stitch the sleeves in place. Neaten around the seam allowances of the armholes. Neaten the base of the sleeves, fold and press up the 3cm hems, then machine stitch in place. Neaten around the base of the top. Fold and press up the 3cm hem and machine stitch in place.