Romy is one of Tilly’s tops for stretch fabrics. It’s standout feature is the unusal neckline, which is not unlike those on babygrows. This is an advantage if you don’t want to spoil you hair-do when getting into it!
Fiona and I both liked how the top is constructed, the pattern pieces for the front and back have straight necklines. An easier option, given that there is no round neckline to tackle, so no wrestling with stretching in a neckband. The crucial part of the process is the accurate marking of the notches, a very important task when constructing the Romy, paying close attention to the correspending nothces for the version you are making.
Fiona : Height 5’3″ / B 47″ / W 39″ / H 45″. Made a SIZE 8.
Marice : Height 5’0.5″ / B 37″ / W 31″ / H 40″. Made a SIZE 5.
NECKLINE
MARICE : whilst the photo may look a little squint, my neckline does sit well, a little higher than I am used to. Normally wearing a crew neck, or V neck.
FIONA : as you can see in the photo, the neckline is far too wide and very loose, bagging. Unfortunately it is the same at the back of the neck with far too much fabric. Whilst I made a size 8 to fit my chest size, it has meant the pattern has assumed I am larger all over. Marice and I measured our shoulder widths and interestingly we measure exactly the same. The issue here is that I carry most of my excess weight in my chest and tummy while still having a small back and narrower shoulders – there’s a lot I need to do to adjust this to fit correctly. One of my favourite knit top patterns is the Tilly & The Buttons Agnes, which fits me perfectly so I was a little disappointed that this wasn’t the case with Romy.
MARICE : SLEEVES are too long, it’s usual for me to shorten by a couple of inches, I’ve not cut shorter yet, as I wanted to see how the pattern comes out true to size. My fabric has a print on the rightside and plain on the wrong side. I’m considering rolling the sleeves up? Not sure yet. I might live with it and then decide. MAIN BODY As you can see in the above photo (middle) I kept pulling the back of my t-shirt down, it wasn’t sitting correctly on me (right photo). Totally expected though, being shorter, the waist needs to be higher up, this is an adjustment I will make to my pattern pieces before I sew the next one. I’ve yet to hem my Romy, but in a lazy way, I kinda like the way the mustard underside rolls up.
FIONA : SLEEVES I made the cap sleeves so no issues here (although I missed the bit in the instructions to hem them before stitching to main body and sewing up the sides!) MAIN BODY Despite the problems with the neckline I actually really like the fit in the body, the Romy is not fitted but it’s also not too boxy so I think the shape is flattering for a variety of different figures. Overall this was an enjoyable sew and as always Tilly’s instructions are well written and very easy to follow. I’ve got quite a bit of work to do to the pattern if I am to make another one but will, of course, update you all on my progress.
Here’s the short sleeved version I made last year … you will have probably seen these photos on our social media. Sadly we have sold out of our hippo fabric, but there will be more funky prints for you to choose from.