A Lively Romy!

August 9, 2019

Hello! I’m Aimee Wilson – also known as The Sewing Scientist. Feel free to follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see all my makes. I am so excited to bring to you my Lively Romy mashup to the George + Ginger Blog! I really love mashing patterns together to make new and exciting things. Mashing patterns together is really not hard and the end result is often worth the extra effort. The steps I will be showing you can be applied anytime you are wanting to mix the top half of a pattern with the lower half of another.

This is what we are making today.

Let’s get started! You can buy the Lively pattern here and the Romy pattern here (both links are an affiliate link which will earn me a small commission if you use them).

First print out the Lively bodice, front and back yokes, and sleeves and the Romy tank. I will be using the flowy version of the Romy tank, but you could also use the fitted version for a different look. Cut both patterns out in the same size and apply and grading or other fit adjustments you would normally make to both. When mashing together patterns I like to start from the top and work my way down. We will be using the top half of the Lively and bottom half of the Romy tank. First lay the Lively front bodice on your table. When mashing patterns, I love to trace them out on interfacing, but you can use Swedish tracing paper, freezing paper, or whatever you prefer. Often I will do my first “sketching” in pencil so that I can erase and redraw parts as I need to. To make things easier to see, I used a sharpie.

So first, let’s trace the Lively bodice. I draw the center front foldline, the neckline, shoulders, and through the armscye to the side seam and stop. I totally forgot to take a photo of this step, but remembered when I did the back piece – so just bear with me.

Then I laid the Romy tank on top. Match up the armpits (side seam below the armscye) and the front center foldline as much as possible. It’s okay if they are not both the same width. The Romy tank was slightly wider, so I let it hang off the foldline of the Lively. Now trace the side seam and the hemline of the Romy tank.

Here is what the mashed up front will look like. I drew in where the Lively bodice was for reference in blue in all the following photos. Initially, I was just going to draw the bodice straight – that is the line you see at the bottom. Then I decided mashing the Lively with the Romy sounded like more fun.

Now make sure you write all the important stuff down on your pattern piece like the grainline, foldline, what it is, etc. Then cut it out and set it aside.

Now let’s get started on our back piece. First we will trace the Lively back bodice. Again we will do the center foldline, top of the bodice, and through the armscye to the side seam.

Now we will place the Romy tank back pattern piece on top. Use a ruler to line up the armpits. Make sure to line up the foldlines. The Romy tank is narrower than the Lively at the armpits.

Now we will draw the side seam. We want to go from the end of the Lively armscye to some point on the Romy tank. I wanted a gentle curve that mimicked the Romy tank side seam. I grabbed my handy French curve to give me a hand. If you don’t have a French curve, I am telling you to get one. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. It is so handy for grading between sizes and when mashing patterns. If you don’t have a French curve – grab a dinner plate from your kitchen. I actually keep a plate hidden in my sewing stuff. That round curve often comes in handy. Place the curve until you like the look of that side seam, then trace it. Remember – if you don’t like it, you can redo it!

Here’s how it looks. I highlighted the new side seam in red. After I made my first tester from this pattern, I went back and made the side seam about half an inch wider right by the arrow pointing to the Romy tank flowy cutline. Know that sometimes you do have to make adjustments when mashing patterns like this. It is always important to sew one with less precious fabric first before cutting into highly coveted fabrics.

Look at our new pattern piece!

Now I am a huge fan of ¾ length sleeves. I’m in Texas where it doesn’t get very cold too terribly often. I wear ¾ length sleeves all year round. Yes, I do still wear them in the summer when it is 100 outside because it will still be 70 inside the office building where I work or pretty much any public building or restaurant. I decided to make a plain ¾ length sleeves for my Lively Romy mashup. This step is easy peasy. Trace the sleeve cap and the seamline. Place a ruler on top of the pattern piece and draw a line however many inches past the cutline you need. I’m short and have short arms, so I added 5.5” to my sleeve. Draw the hemline only.

Now you will take a ruler and follow the side seam all the way to the hemline you drew on both sides of the sleeve. Don’t forget to mark the front, back, and shoulder seam marks on your sleeve piece.

You are done making your new pattern pieces. You are now ready to cut into your fabric. I used a stretch woven for my yokes and love how they came out. You will follow the instructions for the Lively top on pages 13 and 14. We will not have a lining and will instead finish the neckline with a band. After making the bodice, measure the neckline. Take that measurement and multiply it by 0.85 to get the length of band you need. If you are using a very stretchy knit, multiply by 0.8. Next add the sleeves. These instructions are on page 15. You will then sew the side seams and sleeves as outlined on page 16. Then, all that is left is to hem and iron your new top. Enjoy!