Pattern Review: Anegada top by Halfmoon Atelier

I had the privilege of testing the Anegada top for Meghann of Halfmoon Atelier.  I’ll spoil the review up front and share that I loved the top so much that I made both versions, View A and View B.

View A offers a cowl boatneck feature with banded sleeves and waist.  View B has a straighter neckline with pleats at the center and hemmed sleeves and waist.

Below is a size chart for reference:

 

For the muslin and first top:

Version: View B

Size: 3/4/5, I started out at a 3 at the shoulders/bust then graded up to a 4 at the waist and a 5 at the hips.

Fabric: Black rayon knit, lightweight

For the muslin (the photo above), I sewed the center pleats at 3/8″ (which is inside the 5/8″ seam allowance).  I found that as I sewed the binding on the neckline at the seam allowance, the pleats became gathers (as the seam allowance is past the pleats).  The end result is a slight diversion from the original pattern but I liked the end result.  I intentionally chose a knit fabric with rayon for this version as I wanted a nice drape for the pleats.

 

I had enough yardage of the rayon fabric to sew my final version of View B in this same fabric.  For the final version I sewed the pleats at a 1.25″ seam instead of at the 5/8″ pattern seam allowance for more pronounced pleats (see photo below).  I also sewed envelope feature at the shoulders at a 1.25″ seam allowance (instead of the 5/8″ seam allowance).  I love the boatneck silhouette but I wanted to experiment with bringing in the envelope closure slightly.  The idea with this diversion was to help hide my bra straps.

 

I love the length of this top.  The fabric is very comfortable and I always enjoy the pairing of elegance and comfort in a finished garment. I continually find black fabric is hard to photograph but I keep coming back to it for test sewing as it’s one of my favorite colors to wear.  I decided not to hem the sleeves or the waist.  I loved the length of both unhemmed and I love that knit fabric offers that flexibility (to hem or not hem the garment).

 

For the next version I sewed View A.

Fabric: Terry jersey knit, midweight

Size: Same as above

Changes to the pattern: I lengthened the sleeves by 2″ for a 3/4 length sleeve option.  I decided to leave off the band at the waist.  I love the idea of having a 3/4 length sleeved sweatshirt.  It’s not something that I currently own in my wardrobe.  I enjoyed the star pattern with this grey fabric.  I love the idea of wearing this top out on a date night for a comfortable but elegant dinner option (with jeans or a skirt).

The fabric with cowl neck in View A rolls, slightly.  The pattern encourages you to roll the fabric before sewing the sleeves on the garment, for a fun raw edged feature at the neckline.

Future plans:  After the photos were taken I decided to add the waistband to View A.  I currently  have more low waisted pants and skirts vs high waisted options.  The waistband is a nice feature  to add some length to the top.  I have to admit that I didn’t plan ahead with View A regarding adjusting the size for a thicker weight fabric.  I would love to make this top again in a medium weight fabric and go up in size for a looser fit option.

This is a fun pattern with many different options to make to your own styling preferences.