DIY Made for Mermaids Stella Top

Recently Made for Mermaids released their latest pattern collection, Lounge and Lace. I immediately bought the Bridgette Bralette and Stella Bundle when it debuted. I have sewn several Mama Bridgettes but these two lace ones in the pictures below are my current favorites. Both bralettes are sewn with stretch lace from Hobby Lobby.

Pattern Description & Suggested Fabrics:

Quick, simple and sexy knit sweater packed full of options with slight drop shoulder. Go from simple to wow with 4 different back options. The full back is great for every day wear. The v back includes optional back band or tie bands. The keyhole back is unique and perfect for showing off a Mama Bridgette Bralette. Plus an off the shoulder option which is right on trend. You can choose from top and tunic length on all options. 3 different banded sleeve lengths make it perfect for year-round wear. Choose from short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve or long sleeves. designed to coordinate perfectly with our other Lounge & Lace Collection patterns. 

Fabric- light to medium weight sweater knit with at least 50% stretch

The Mama Stella and Stella have many options and below I have photographed 3 of the back views.
The first one also happens to be my favorite. I made this matching (although I didn't realize I did opposite shoulders until picture time) set for my daughter and I using clearance sweater knit fabric from Joann Fabric. I barely had enough fabric so I used a scuba knit suede fabric from Joanns for the cuffs and bands. This is the off shoulder tunic length option.

My daughters is a size 6 and fits perfectly. However, on her next Stella I will add length as this won't fit for long. My top is a size Pink graded to a purple in the hip. I love the fit in this sweater knit, but I found out material is quite important for fit on my next two tops. 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope when you were done sewing? Yes, I think it looked like the pattern for all 3 tops that I made. 

Were the instructions easy to follow? 

Yes, one thing I love about this pattern company is the attention to detail. They do their best to make sure the directions are simple to follow but if you run into any problems there are usually sew alongs or videos of any potentially confusing parts of a pattern. This top was a very quick and simple sew.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

I love how quickly the top came together. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that every pattern has so many options. I do NOT love the band on the bottom. It is uncomfortable for me and I prefer a looser fit on the bottom of my tops. 

Pattern Alterations/Design changes you made: 

I did not change anything for these tops, in the future I am going to change the bottom band for something different. (And...the gray top above is currently not banded on the sleeve because it is unfinished).

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? 

Absolutely. This is a quick and easy pattern with many different trendy options. 

The one shoulder option is surprisingly quite comfy. The shoulder stays put and doesn't require lots of adjusting. The second Stella I made in a sweatshirt fabric from Joanns which was not nearly stretchy enough. The top ended up quite tight and I didn't have enough fabric to make the sleeves in a longer length that I would prefer. The last top I made was a refashion using an old Banana Republic mustard sweater and some floral fabric scraps from Girl Charlee. This top I cut the next size up after finding the gray top so tight and that was a mistake. I ended up taking in a ton on the sides, especially through the hip, so lesson learned....fabric matters quite a bit on this pattern!! When using a sweater knit (as the pattern suggests) the size works well.