Free Beautiful Flower Top Pattern & Tutorial

I finally finished the Beautiful Flower Top Pattern and Tutorial!  Sorry it has taken me so long, but this was the first time I have ever tried to make a clothing pattern.  I hope it all makes sense, if not, please leave me a comment or email me.

After making the original pattern and top, I found that I needed to tweak a couple of the pattern pieces, so I headed back to the drawing board to remeasure and draw.  The part I had really messed up with before was the placket, but now I think I have it all figured out.  

I then needed to test the pattern again, so I found this cute piece of red calico fabric and some really soft denim in my stash.  This time, I wanted to make an entire outfit.  But we'll have more on that later.

Anyway, without further delay, here is the free Beautiful Flower Top Pattern and Tutorial by sewVery!  The pattern fits a size 4T.  

And here is the new Beautiful Flower Top that I made in the process of revising the pattern.  The construction of the latest version is much better than the first.

We made a quick trip to the zoo a few afternoons ago because the weather was so warm and pretty, but as soon as we got there, I realized that Miss Ella should have stayed home and taken a nap instead!  So, although she may not look very happy in these photos, she really does love her new outfit!

I just love the buttons I used on the top.  They are vintage Pearl buttons by Costumakers.  These came from my grandmother's collection of sewing notions.  I've been wanting to use them for a long time, and this was the perfect project.  I wish I had a slightly smaller size of the same button to use on the skirt, but I don't.  Oh, well.

And the buttons were even Made in the U.S.A.!  Wow!

We walked around the zoo and saw a few animals--the meerkats, elephants, monkeys, and even this...

Mr. Red River Hog was quite smelly, prompting already fussy Miss Ella to do this!

Remember I mentioned I made her an entire outfit?  Well, here is the skirt I made from a vintage Butterick pattern that was in my mom's sewing stuff. Butterick 5845.

I dubbed it the Groovy Skirt!

I decided to leave the pockets off the skirt since the Beautiful Flower Top already had two similar ones.  The denim is so soft, and even though the skirt is a little big right now since it is a size 4, I'm sure it will fit her perfectly come summer.

We continued on our brief walk through the zoo and ended up at the historic home and farm.  I thought the old buildings and gardens might be an interesting spot to take a few more pictures.  While the area was nice for picture taking, Ella was still in a bad mood.  Here are a few of the better pictures I took of her in the Beautiful Flower Top and the Groovy Skirt.

I just love these boots.  Although I bought these in the fall, I picked up another pair in a larger size last week at Target when they were on clearance. She'll be wearing the same style again next year!

And at the last minute, we decided to dash over and see the beautiful flamingos!  My kids love to see them because you can get so close to the birds.  Plus, there is a really fun swinging bridge they can run across.

Finally, no visit to the zoo would be complete without sitting on the stone lions.  Connor had been sick with a stomach virus for two days, so I was sewVery glad to see him out having fun and smiling!

As for Ella, well, she just needed a nap.  Here she is in the last picture finally sporting the matching headband I made to go with her Beautiful Flower Top.

Thanks for stopping by, and I would love to hear what you think about the pattern and tutorial!  And if you choose to make a Beautiful Flower Top, send me a picture of your version.  If I have enough interest, I'll create a Flickr group.

I'm linking up with these wonderful sites this week.  Check them out, too!