The Synthia Blouse PDF Pattern by Designer Stitch

Last month I was part of the pattern testing entourage of the newest Designer Stitch PDF pattern, the Synthia Ruffled Top. Designer Stitch’s second release of 2018 was something I didn’t realize how much I needed until I put it on. I am not exaggerating in the least when I put it on after attaching the ruffle and I actually said out loud, “Wow! This is really cool!” I don’t make a habit of talking to myself out loud, for the record. But this top IS really cool!!!

The construction is fairly quick,too. The most time consuming part for me was hemming the ruffle! Attaching the ruffle was a bit of a mind bender at first, as I had never seen a construction method like this before. Ann really worked her magic on this technique! The instruction were fine tuned during testing but the confusion for me was more of a mental block. Once I got past that block, I realized I was just complicating things in my own mind.

Ruffles are an emerging trend in the fashion world these days. I am not a huge fan of overly cutesy ruffles, preferring to have a bit more structure with a bit of edginess to enhance the design lines on my clothing. So I will admit to being a bit skeptical about how well this would fit into my wardrobe. But once I pulled it on every doubt melted away and I was totally impressed with the design of this top. These are not your ordinary ruffles!

The top does call for an invisible zipper but there were a few testers who discovered that they could pull the top on quite easily when they made their toiles/muslins. It really depends on the shape of your body. If you are not able to manoeuvre back zippers due to mobility issues, it certainly would be simple enough to move the zipper to the side seam and even consider installing the side zip upside-down to make zipping it a breeze! As you can see above, I was one of those who didn’t need to add a zipper. Don’t cut the back pattern piece on the fold , though, as you will miss out on some of the fitting that is part of the back pattern pieces.

The fabric that I used is a beautiful drapey olive coloured “mystery” fabric (because I have no idea of what the fabric content is). I do know that it has a fair amount of synthetic content in it, though, due to the fact that it clings a lot. I was really in a quandary because I can’t use products that most people do when trying to eliminate static cling due to the fact that I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivities.

I really loved this fabric though and was really pleased to discover that this top went with one of my favourite skirts that I don’t wear often because I have never really found the right colour top to go with it. So I went into one of my favourite sewing groups and thanks to a great brainstorming session, I created my own natural anti-static spray! I am happy to report no clinging in any of these pictures. I am still fine tuning the “recipe” but let me know if you would like me to share it in a future post.

This top is a lot of fun to make and even more fun to wear. I have already started my second one out of a teal paisley rayon and I think this would be fantastic in a tencel or chambray. One of the testers also lengthened one of hers to a dress length and it was really pretty and would be perfect for any summer weddings or days when you just want to feel pretty! (I am editing this to add a link to said dress here!)

I am really glad I added this top to my wardrobe as it filled a hole for a very romantic and feminine top that I didn’t realize was there. With spring just around the corner, now would be the perfect time to gift yourself with the Synthia Top pdf pattern which you can sew up quite easily over the course of a few hours. Don’t forget to join the Designer Stitch Facebook Group to see what other’s are creating and share your own Designer Stitch creations, too.

Happy Sewing!!!