Double Feature: the Bronte top

I’ve never had much time for the Bronte sisters, I have to say. I like classic literature, but I absolutely hated Wuthering Heights when I was forced to suffer through it at school and I found Jane Eyre pretty forgettable when I read it a few years later (though I have gained a new appreciation for it after reading the hilarious and extremely clever ‘The Eyre Affair’ by Jasper Fforde, I would definitely recommend that one!). However, the name didn’t put me off the Bronte top from Jennifer Lauren Vintage! I loved it as soon as I saw it pop up on her blog, and bought it the day it came out.

It was so quick and easy to put together, even with the tricky looking shoulder detail. I had originally planned to follow the sewalong, as I’ve never actually managed to sew along before, I’m usually way too late to the party…but the instructions were really clear and everything matched up neatly, so before I knew it I had a finished top! Soon after that, I had two finished tops, because why stop at one when you have a good thing going?

I cut both Bronte tops out at the same time, both out of merino (surprise!). The stripy knit I used for the long sleeved version is quite stretchy, so it fits over a long sleeved tee shirt confortably. The black knit I used for the second version had significantly less stretch, so I decided not to go down a size, even though I wanted the short sleeved version to be closer fitting. Just as well I didn’t! I’m always amazed how much fabric can affect fit, even though it seems like such an obvious consideration…

(Cat fur optional…)

For the black version I added some cute black and white gingham buttons to emphasise the shoulder detail, as it was much harder to see in a solid colour. Looking at these photos, I think i need to go and check if I’ve sewn the buttons on evenly, the ones on the left shoulder look wonky…The bands on the stripy version are off cuts from the the same knit as the black top, I think the contrast is really nice. I’m planning another version for summer, I think some little flat bows on the wrap binding could be really cute too…