Steph Time Side Tie Top made with Lightweight Poplin Cotton in Barbara Black

Ya’ll, I don’t know what has gotten into me since moving to the Pacific Northwest, but all I want to wear is fun clothes. It feels like every outing is brimming with the excitement of exploring a new city and therefore, a cause for celebration. And while there are definitely fashionable people in Arkansas who have a bold and playful sense of style, the commonality of a kooky Portland aesthetic makes me feel like I can begin to experiment more with my own wardrobe and still fly under the radar. 

I haven’t been quite as incognito as I thought though, because the first time I wore my quilted top for a Saturday dinner date in the neighborhood, I was spotted wearing it by a fellow Instagram sewing girlie while walking to the restaurant. Apparently it was so good as to be a distraction while driving (definitely counting that as a compliment), and it has everything to do with the obvious star of the show, the fabric. 

Steph Time Side Tie Top made with Lightweight Poplin Cotton in Barbara Black

I was absolutely smitten when my Fabrics Store cotton poplin came in the mail. As I’m sure is true with a lot of sewers, hand feel holds a lot of weight for me when choosing fabric, so picking online can be tricky. When I opened my package, I literally gasped at how cool and crisp the poplin felt, and the Barbara print was deliciously vivid. My initial plans for it were to make an adorable matching pajama set to effortlessly wear around the house, but then I remembered my preferred sleepwear consists of an oversized sweatshirt and gym shorts, and that isn’t changing. Instead, I looked back through some old saved posts for inspiration. 

I first became enamored with making a quilted bib after seeing Susannah’s from @sew.sannah back in January of last year, when she modified the Helen’s Closet Ashton Top, and then shortly after Meredith from @sewliberated made a sawtooth star variation using the Hinterland Dress pattern. When Steph Time released the Side Tie Top, I knew I wanted to make View B to finally realize my quilted bib dreams, but I tucked the idea away for a rainy day as I already had too many other pieces on my to-make list. 

Steph Time Side Tie Top made with Lightweight Poplin Cotton in Barbara Black

With rainy days in abundance now, I spent a couple of chilly autumn afternoons constructing this piece. After cutting everything out and sewing up the front darts and shoulder seams, I got to work sandwiching my crisp cotton poplin and a chartreuse gingham cotton shirting I had in my fabric stash between some batting. I used my machine to quilt a simple grid design with two inches between rows, and then hand-stitched the bias tape while re-watching old episodes of Project Runway. I switched back to my machine when each bias edge turned side tie for added durability and strength.

The magnified size of the print nicely juxtaposes the cropped length of the top, and the chartreuse gingham plays off the greens in the floral design for perfect pattern clashing. I’m so chuffed with this garment and know it will get lots of wear as it can be layered or worn alone depending on the season. The crispness of the poplin provides a beautiful structure to the top that I know will only get better as time goes on.

Steph Time Side Tie Top made with Lightweight Poplin Cotton in Barbara Black

I’m not sure if this new lean towards loud prints will continue, or if this is just a temporary body snatch situation. For now, I’m having fun feeding my sewing whims and finding different outfit combinations to go with my new quilted floral top.