The Fiorella Top – Free Sewing Pattern

In the world of sewing projects, glam doesn’t always need to mean time consuming and complicated.  I know we all love a good sewing project that we can complete in under a day. Our Fiorella Ruffle Top Free Sewing Pattern is beginner friendly, not only from a technical standpoint, but if you’re wanting to try your hand at adapting a pattern to suit your needs, this is a great place to start!  Want to add more drama and turn it into a dress? Simply add length on the tier! Want to have more fullness and gathers? Extend the end on the tier for a bigger gathering ratio. What I love about this pattern is that it can be sewn with a variety of fabrics, but with our Luxury 3D Powder Pink Spotted Striations Puffy Glitter Tulle it instantly becomes an eye-catching piece you can wear to elevate any outfit.

Purchase Materials Used Below:

• 2 yards Luxury 3D Powder Pink Spotted Striations Glitter Tulle
• 1 spool of 305 Petal Pink 100m Sew All Thread
• MDF336 – The Fiorella Top Sewing Pattern (free download below!)

Alternative Recommended Fabrics:

• Lace 
• Organza 

Before you get started:

Once your pattern pieces are cut out, measure the top edge of the back and front top, plus each strap to determine the length of binding you’ll need.  

You can either buy binding tape or make your own to match your top. I made 1/2” double fold straight grain binding from the selvedge edge of the tulle because it contained little to no embellishment. I used the shoulder strap as a template for the binding. 

Optional: If you want to use extra binding for finishing the inner seams, plan accordingly.

How to sew the top:

Step 1

Right sides together, sew the front and back bodice pieces together along each side. Trim the seam allowance. 

Step 2

Repeat with the tiers.

Step 3

Gather the top edge of the tier so that each piece fits onto the bodice.

Step 4

Pin the tiers to the bodice, right sides together. Make sure the gathers are evenly distributed along the bottom of the bodice and the side seams are matched up.  Sew, then trim the seam allowance.

If you’re using binding as I did, you can either sandwich everything together and sew it in one go (as pictured above), or sew the side seams together then attach the binding.

Step 5

Edgestitch the shoulder strap binding. 

Step 6

Staystitch the shoulder straps to the wrong side of the back bodice, with the straps pointing down. Make sure the edge stitched sides are facing out.

Step 7

Measure the top edge of the bodice from the high point, around the back, to the other high point. In other words, exclude the v-neck in your measurement.  Cut out the binding and pin to the top of the bodice, then edgestitch.

Step 8

Repeat on the v-neck, starting at one high point and ending at the other. When you get to the center front v, sew the binding in a straight line. Your v-neck should look more like a u-neck right now. Fold the raw edges down for a finished look. 

Step 9

With the bodice inside out, fold at the center front. You’ll see the excess binding at the v-neck.  Sew it in line with the center front fold.

Step 10

The hem allowance is 1/2″. Because I used tulle for this project, I chose to omit the hem.