I recently got a chance to test the latest pattern from Straight Stitch Designs and as per usual… surprise, surprise… it’s a wonderful pattern! :) There’s just something about Kimberly’s designs that I’m really drawn to… it’s all in the details, and the View Ridge is no exception!

For my tester version, I used this plain black cotton voile from Fabric Wholesale Direct, purchased back in September at the same time as all of my fabrics for Super Girl ;) It was pretty thin, so for the main body of the tank, I cut two of everything and doubled it up – which worked wonders. I did that for everything except the ruffle, where I figured I didn’t need the extra layer of bulk.

The whole thing came together fairly quickly. And of course, no black shirt (or any shirt for that matter… or any meal) would be complete around here without a little white dog hair, thanks to that little one there on the right.

See… even Finn can’t take a picture without having a chunk of Zoe’s hair hanging from his mouth… :/ Don’t ask me why we decided to adopt a white and a black dog. I mean, yes, they are absolutely adorable and sweet and maybe that had a little something to do with it… but when it comes to wearing, well, ANYTHING… it becomes an issue ;)

I cut a straight size 4, and it was pretty spot on. There was a lot of talk during testing about how to adjust the size for a better fit in the bust. I wasn’t much help with that conversation :/ but she ended up with a really nice section in the pattern that talks all about it… for those ladies who have the ladies if you catch my drift… :)

My favorite part, of course, is the keyhole back. I’m a big sucker for a nice keyhole back detail, but I hadn’t sewn one until this pattern. It’s not all that difficult, as it turns out. :D

The keyhole is made with a facing, and everything else is finished with a nice little bias binding, so the insides turn out very neat, in my opinion.

So that’s about it! The pattern has 3 views, and lots of ways to customize. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other tester versions here for some serious inspiration!

Until next time,