Learning Flounces with the Jaya Top by Vikisews

I found this fabric at Remainders Creative Reuse in Pasadena. It was a scrap piece, so not a ton to work with. But I thought it was really cool and picked it up anyway without a specific plan for it. It's this sheer orange fabric with a circle dot print and a gold shimmer to it, and it moves really nicely.

For a while I had no idea what I was going to make with it. I eventually decided I wanted something flouncy. Vikisews has some really beautiful patterns, including some more complicated intermediate ones I've always wanted to try, and I'd been looking for a reason to finally use one. I went back and forth between two options: the Jaya Top and the Missy Skirt. A smaller scrap piece actually worked out perfectly for the top, so that's what I went with.

The Flounces

I had only done flounces once before this project, so they were still pretty new to me. Curved seams on lightweight, slippery fabric are hard to get to lay flat, and this fabric was no exception. I followed the pattern instructions closely and went slowly.

It was a good practice project for flounces, and I liked that it was a scrap from Remainders since I hadn't paid much for it.

For the narrow hem on the flounces, I used the trim the excess trick: you stitch, trim really close to the stitching, then fold and stitch again. By Hand London has a good breakdown of this method if you want to see it step by step. There are also a bunch of other tricks for narrow hems on curved edges (the tissue paper method is a popular one), so if this one doesn't click for you it's worth googling around to find what works best for you.

Making the Cups

The Jaya Top has a built-in bra cup, which is one of the things I really like about it. I cut out both cups and lined just those pieces. The flounces I left unlined, which worked really well with this fabric.

The pattern also uses bra strap sliders, the little hardware pieces that let you adjust the strap length. I found gold ones to match the orange in the fabric and really liked that detail.

How It Came Together

Really happy with it. The open front with ties is what sold me on this pattern. It's cute and you can adjust how it sits, which I love. The flounces show off the fabric really well too. There's a lot going on in the print, and the shape of the top lets it move around instead of sitting flat.

I Wore It to a Chappell Roan Concert

Chappell Roan does themes for her concerts, and this one was mermaid. So I decided I was going for orange mermaid, if that's even a thing. I matched my eyeshadow to the top too, like an orange-red. It felt perfect for the show.

If you make a Jaya Top, tag me on Instagram @DesignsbyERB. I'd love to see it.