Nautical Stripes Velvet Whales Lark Tee by Grainline Studio

When we received this amazing yarn died red stripes with with raised velvet whales, I could't wait to sew a cute nautical top before our little trip to Porto at Easter.

I decided to make another Lark Tee from Grainline studio. I love that pattern! It's simple and fits well, and I made quite a few versions already so that pattern is traced and it's always a quick and pleasurable make.

No pictures will do justice to this amazing fabric. The red is so vibrant, and the velvet Whales!! what can I say, I cant stop stroking them. They are so soft!

I played a bit with the pattern placement to make sure the stripes would match on the side. I didn't worry about about matching the whales, I'm not such a pattern placement freak. If it works out, fine, if not, it's no big deal ;)

I rarely use pins nowadays, my preferred method of holding the fabric in place before sewing is with my Clover wonder clips. I just find it so much easier and accurate because the fabric stays flat.

I always sew tops with this method: Sew the sleeve hems before I sew the sleeves. That way i find the finished result a lot neater as they are still flat and I don't have to feed the sleeve tube through the machine, which sometimes gets slightly stretched and could cause imperfections. I always make sure the under arm to wrist hem measurement is the same front and back.

Then I get on with stitching the arm and sides.

I did take the stripes placement quite seriously here. Hehe!

wonder clips AND pins!

Maybe I overdid it a bit but it was worth it!

Super pleased with the result.

Stripes matched to perfection. However some whale heads had to roll. Eek!

Ahoy sewing sailors!

Me in my home city of Porto by a 'Barca'. This boats used to transport Port wine all the way from the Douro Valley up North. It was quite a journey

This picture makes me laugh because I look a bit like I'm superimposed and not actually there. However, I was and it was a perfect warm evening just before the sun set :)

If you like the look of this fabric then you can buy it through our website HERE but we only have really limited stock and it isn't something we can get any more of I am afraid. Let me know what you think of my top in the comments below!

Happy sewing peeps.

Monica x