My Sorbetto Obsession

There's nothing better than a simple sleeveless cotton top in Singapore.  It's comfortable, goes well with shorts and always looks a bit neater than a t-shirt or singlet.  Collette Patterns have a free, downloadable pattern for a simple sleeveless top.  You can download your copy of the Sorbetto from their website.

Source - Collette Patterns

I made my first Sobetto back when we lived in London.  I used some white shirting I had leftover from Samantha's christening gown.  I wore that top to death every time we got warm weather. It was eventually so stained and ragged that I had to ditch it.  I decided to make myself a few more in different fabrics.  So far I have three which get a lot of wear.

This first one I made in a very fine Japanese lawn I bought at Spotlight.  Unfortunately, I slightly stretched out the neckline and armholes.

I made this one in a beautiful linen shirting I bought at Mustafa.  I used an improvisational pleating technique I saw on Birch Fabrics Blog.  The pleating does require a really good pressing, but I like the effect.

My final Sorbetto is made in white shirting from Mustafa with some pintucks down the centre front.  I started by removing the pleat from the front panel of the Sorbetto pattern.  I then decided it was much too difficult to work out the pintuck fabric requirements, cut the pattern then sew the pintucks.  Instead, I sewed the pintucks into the fabric, then cut out my pattern.  I'm sure this method is cheating, but it worked like a charm.

I love the simplicity of these tops and wear them all the time.  If you haven't tried out the Sorbetto pattern yet, I highly recommend it.