Ari Top - Cutting Thread Patterns

One great thing about pattern testing is being able to work with pattern companies that you haven’t tried before. I had the opportunity to test for a brand new pattern company this time! Cutting Thread Patterns.

The Pattern

The debut pattern for Cutting Threads is the Ari Top!

The Ari top features a classic silhouette with a cheeky open back design, perfect for dressing up or down. This pattern comes in two lengths and a choice of simple cap sleeves, playful ruffle or sleeveless. The Ari works great with trims and appliques as well. This pattern works best with lightweight woven fabrics.

For my Ari, I went with the sleeveless option shirt length. With my measurements I fell into size 4.

The Fabric

If you can’t already tell, I have a thing for Sincerely Rylee Fabrics.

The fabric I chose for this project is a Wool Peach. It is a no stretch woven that feels silky smooth and can be dressed up or down. I love that I could wear this shirt out to dinner, or around the house casually. Unfortunately I have not seen this specific fabric run again recently, but that may be due in part to how long I have hoarded this fabric in my stash.

4 years…. that’s how long I have had this fabric. Crazy right?! This is when I was first starting to get into sewing and had no idea what fabrics were! Sincerely Rylee offers a Learn your fabrics box which was absolutely perfect for a beginner like me at the time. These boxes are great (and cheap!) with one option being 8 fabrics at 1 yard for only $40! As someone who did not know what kind of fabrics were out there and didn’t want to spend an arm and a leg to learn, this was a fantastic and fairly cheap option.

Final Thoughts

I love shirts that have a different style to the normal t-shirt or tank top. The Ari Top has this with the open back making it a very cool shirt (both in temperature and style)!

A few things to note from my shirt though:

I personally had a difficult time with the binding using this particular fabric. So much so, that I decided to serge the edges and hem instead of attaching the bindings. Nothing wrong with the pattern in this case, but my ability to attach a non stretch binding just did not have the result I was looking for.

I also think next time I will grade the bust to be a size 6 for a more relaxed look.