Simplicity 3838, Floral Silk Top

I was a little dubious about this project for three reasons:

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1. The print, which is a little bolder than I'd normally choose.
2. The style, which could look a bit maternity if I was unlucky.
3. The fabric, which is very lightweight and may not have had enough drape and therefore stick out in the front.

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Overall though I am really happy with this top...

Back view...

Hmm, you can see the invisible zip a little in the band section - I'll have to go back and get a bit closer there!

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The pattern is Simplicity 3838, which I have just realised is OOP. I'm not sure how I managed to look past the hideous photo on the pattern envelope, but I'm glad I did.

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I made a 2cm FBA but other than that it's a straight size 12.

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The main fabric is silk (china silk weight) and the bands are made from black linen.

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Rather than turn under the edges of the bands and topstitch them down I used my interfacing to make a neater edge. I sewed the centre seam on the fabric and interfacing (overlap and stitch the interfacing), then I trimmed the full seam allowance off everywhere except the outside edge. I laid the pieces right sides (non-sticky side of the interfacing) together and then stitched around the outside edge. I trimmed carefully and clipped the seam then turned the piece right side out. I very carefully pressed around the edge to make sure it fused nicely, then I fused the whole piece.

I then attached the band to the top as per the instructions, hand basting it in place first.
The other thing I did differently (and I forgot to take a picture) is the way I treated the midriff band. On the facing piece I turned under the ends about 2cm (and trimmed) before joining it to the top part - this is to reduce bulk when inserting the zip. Next I turned in the seam allowance on the bottom of the midriff band and hand stitched it in place. The pattern has the raw edges exposed on the bottom part of the band - not pretty.
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Invisible zips are a real challenge for me, I don't know why. Maybe I am too much of a perfectionist or I just don't have the knack. Whatever it is I can never insert an invisible zip without some swear words! This one was no exception, I just couldn't get the bottom part of the seam to match up nicely and after unpicking several times the fabric started to look very fragile. I ended up have to make a couple of hand stitches but sssh, don't tell anyone!
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Because I like the inside to look as pretty as the outside (unless I'm being lazy) I made all the seams french except the armhole and centre back, which I bound. I then hand stitched the bound seam to the midriff facing to hide the bit that I turned under earlier. Here's the inside (before I had done the hem - which is just double turned and machine stitched).
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So that's it, what do you think? I was a bit worried it would 'wear me' rather than the other way around but I actually think it's quite cute and cheerful.