My sewing juices were so well revived after making my black Sewaholic Belcarra, that it wasn’t long until I had another cut and ready to go.

I saw the main fabric for this top (a printed viscose) on the Minerva Crafts website last summer and was instantly drawn to it with this vision of a Belcarra using some black trim for the cuffs and around the neck, but at £9.99 a metre it is the most expensive fabric I’ve brought so far and back then I was too scared that I would mess it up.

Now I’m trying to be less fearful and get better at embracing mistakes as part of the learning process, so decided to treat myself and I’m very glad I did!

I was rather concerned when I opened the parcel as the fabric felt crisp and stiff, not at all the drapey loveliness that I was expecting from viscose! Thankfully it soften up nicely after a pre wash. Not quite as soft and drapey as the black viscose used in my previous Belcarra (and for the contrast pieces in this one) but it still has enough drape to be suitable for this top.

One slight gripe was that the grid pattern sloped off grain about 30 cm from each selvedge and since I’d only brought a metre I couldn’t avoid using this part. You can see the pattern sloping down more on the left side of this photo, but hopefully wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t point it out!

Although not a precise grid, I did take care when cutting to try and get the pattern roughly lining up.

After taking my time cutting out, the top came together pretty smoothly. The only additional pattern change I made was to use the bias strip (half and inch narrower than the original pattern one) for a bound neckline instead of as a facing. I really like the solid black cuffs and neck edge and was even brave enough to use black thread as a contrast for the cuff and hem stitching.

I’ll move on to a different pattern next, but I doubt this will be my last Belcarra. I’m already feeling the need for an ivory or cream version for summer…