Even though it’s frosty outside, I decided to pull out one of my summertime patterns to make a cozy and snuggly knit top. Closet Core Crew continues to release some great, easy to sew patterns and the August release was no exception. Here’s my version of the Marine top, a twist on the Breton marinière. While I’m not a seaman and unfortunately won’t be on the water for a while, I still love the stylish horizontal striped sailor tops. To make my Marine different from the other tops I have, I used a grey and white striped ribbed knit from Minerva. The end result is a light sweater perfect for the fall or to wear layered in the cooler months.
For my fabric, I used the Minerva Core Range Yarn Dyed Heavy Cotton Rib Stretch Knit fabric in the color biscuit. I’m a sucker for heather grey and biscuit is a dark grey with a slight heathered coloring. It’s such a beautiful and versatile color, especially for me who has a tendency to shy away from lighter colored tops. This is a stretchy, heavier-weight rib and would be great for dresses too. Like all of the knits I’ve received from Minerva, the fabric laundered beautifully and didn’t pill or lose any color. Laundering this rib made the fabric softer, which is exactly what you want in a rib knit. This fabric comes in five different colors, including biscuit. There’s a stunning navy color called midnight that I’ve got my pretty little eyes on. You can truly never go wrong with navy and stripes.
The Marine Breton top pattern from Closet Core Crew instantly grabbed me from the second I saw the pictures. Here’s a little secret – I actually sewed this top a couple of months ago but have been so busy wearing it that I’m just now having time to actually review it. To sew it, I used my go-to combination of my serger and my sewing machine, although the serger isn’t necessary. Marine has two views: View A which features a ¾ length sleeves and a standard neckline facing while View B has full-length sleeves and a shoulder-wide facing. I’m not a super fan of wide/loose ¾ sleeves (it makes me feel like a giant who’s wearing the wrong sized clothes), so I opted for View B.
For the most part, this was a quick and enjoyable make. I completed the whole thing in one productive Saturday. The main hiccup for me came when topstitching the facing. Topstitching any shape other than a straight line always gives me issues, so my neckline topstitching looks a bit janky. Thank heavens for the striped fabric as it hides a multitude of sewing sins! Unless you’re staring at the top with a magnifying glass, you can’t really see the errors. This is important to keep in mind if you choose to make this top out of plain fabric. Make sure your topstitching game is on point! So, what do you think? Are you ready to make your own Marine top?
