1 Download and print the pattern at sewmag.co.uk/templates. Stitch the darts into the front piece from the sides to the points, then press upwards towards the shoulder. Neaten the front shoulder seam edge and the adjacent back shoulder seam, then stitch together and press open.

2 Make bias binding from the neckline strip using a binding maker, then press in 1cm on either side. Open one side and position it around the armhole. Pin in place, then stitch along the fold line pressed into the bias strip.

3 Fold the strip onto the wrong side of the top, and position the remaining folded edge over the stitching line. Pin and edgestitch in place, sandwiching the armhole raw edge inside the bias binding. Neaten the front and back side seams, then match together. Sew shut the left side seam and the right side up to the zip notch, then press open.

4 Stitch the two frills together, matching the straight edges. Neaten the seam allowances and the frill outer edge, then press 3mm upwards and stitch in place. Set your machine stitch length to five and make two rows of stitching within the 1cm seam allowance. Pull the threads until the frill fits the neckline, then evenly distribute the gathers. Pin one seam to the shoulder seam and the other to the underarm side seam, then sew in place.

5 Repeat step 2 to create a bias strip, then attach around the neckline, sandwiching the frill edges inside the binding. Make sure the edges joined together are under the shoulder on the left side.

6 Stitch the concealed zip into the side opening using a regular or concealed zipper foot. Fold and press the seam allowance along the opening two sides. Open out the seam allowance and, with right sides facing, place the zip face down, matching the teeth to the crease line within the seam allowance and pin in place.

7 If you’re using a concealed zipper foot, place the zip teeth into the groove and, as you stitch, the foot will uncurl the teeth and stitch alongside them. If you’re not, manually uncurl the teeth, leaving 2.5cm at the end of the zip base, then backstitch. Sew the other side to secure, then thread the zip through to the right side and pull to close.

8 Fold and press 1cm, then another 1cm around the top base. Edgestitch in place, leaving a small area open. Thread elastic long enough to sit comfortably around your hips through the gap. Stitch the two ends of the elastic together, and sew the gap closed.

9 Fold the shoulder strap in half lengthwise and stitch together. Turn the piece to the right side through one of the open ends and press flat. Try the top on and pin the strap over your bra strap, then adjust the length to suit you. Remove the top, and hand or machine stitch the strap in place.