Wiksten Plaid

Can you tell what my favorite new pattern is?

This is my third Wiksten Tova (here's 1 and 2), and this time I used the sleeves per the pattern, no substitutions. I like this top a lot, but I think for my next Tova (yes, there will be more) that I'll either lengthen the sleeves to my wrists, or shorten to just above my elbows. I find myself constantly pushing the sleeves up, so it's clear that this length is bothering me.

I bought the fabric from the Mill End store, and I spent about an hour wandering around looking for something with a print. I wear so few prints and decided that it was time to shake up my winter wardrobe. I was drawn to the plaid for some reason, and would periodically pick up a bolt, walk around for awhile and then put it back. I settled on this one because the colors would transition into my wardrobe well.

The fabric is a woven cotton shirting, not flannel, which I was originally intending to get. I can confidently say that I will not purchase this type of fabric ever again (I'm 90% confident when I say that). The fabric weave was so loose that it constantly shifted while cutting and sewing. I was attempting to match up the plaid too (didn't think about that when I bought the fabric) and after awhile I just gave up. As a result, the plaid does not match up, but I don't think it's glaringly obvious, and the neck opening is larger than I'd like. If I had to do it over, I'd put some interfacing in the placket to give it a little more structure. I ended up pinning the top closed as a last minute fix, but I'm going to go back and add some buttons so that I don't always have to wear a camisole under it.

These tomatoes are really, really delicious