I made a litany of shirts the last few weeks. Well…4, and I repaired my rip-off Pink Republic tank that got a little mangled in the wash. For me, that all qualifies as a litany.

The majority of the new shirts were made using this Baby Doll Top pattern by Studio Cherie. Nothing against my Lago Tanks (I made another one of those anyway), but I wanted something more loose-fitting, and the Baby Doll Top has the added bonus of no neck- or arm-bands that need to be sewn. Bonus bonus of no hem if you use a knit fabric. So they come together much faster than the Lago Tank. The pattern instructions are easy to follow, for the most part. Step 6 could use some tweaking, and making a note to finish the raw bottom edges of the facings for woven fabric before sewing them to the top would be nice.

Version 1

I used this Melons and Pink Stained-Glass Rayon Jersey from Mood, and it turned out to be my favorite version. The drape of the fabric is just right for this pattern with no rolling of the unfinished hem. The texture of the rayon fibers is smoother than the cotton-blend version below so it doesn’t cling. Super comfortable.

I decided to edge-stitch around the armholes on this one, mostly to keep the straps from becoming distorted after washing.

Project Settings

I’m guesstimating since it’s been a few weeks and I forgot to write my settings down for this one. If I had to do again, I’d test a different stitch – maybe lightning stitch – to add more stretch. The narrow zig-zag I used doesn’t have much give to it.

Version 2

My next version I made using this fun Italian Cerise and White Cotton-Blend Jersey from Mood. I just love the color and print of this fabric. If this came in a rayon jersey like the fabric in version 1, it would be perfection. The cotton-blend fibers make the raw edges of this fabric roll, and it isn’t as drapey. You can really tell the cling of the cotton fibers when looking at the back.

Project Settings

Version 3

I pulled my Light Gray Abstract Printed Rayon Batiste from Mood out of my stash to tackle a woven version of this top. The pattern said to make it a few sizes larger to compensate for the missing ease provided by knit fabrics. A few sizes larger gives a girl a lot of fabric around the waist. It’s borderline skirt-ish. Wore it while traveling, though, and it was comfortable other than having to tug it up every so often. I suppose I could have done a size smaller than what she recommended for woven.

Project Settings

And another Lago Tank

That cerise and white jersey was begging to be made into a Lago Tank. So I doth not protested. It works much better with the Lago pattern.

Project Settings