New Pattern Release: PSCO Haven Crop & Dress

Pattern Stats: Haven Crop & Dress

Pattern designer: Petite Stitchery & Co (affiliate)

Pattern level: 4/10

Time start to finish: Less than 1 hour for crop, 2.5 hours for dress

Suggested fabrics: ITY, DBP, Bamboo, CL or Swim for crop

My fabric: Cotton Lycra for Star Wars, Mily Mae Jay DBP floral

Options: Halter as crop top or gathered knee or maxi length dress

Ever think of those things you'll NEVER wear? A crop top was at the top of that list for me. Yet here I am in not one but two crop tops. It's just proof that anything can happen!

Kelly from Petite Stitchery Pattern Company was the creator of the Haven. It's offered in girls or women's sizing and features a halter top with binding finish in either a crop, dress or maxi length. During testing I made the dress for my niece and two crop tops for myself. 

The vision of this top and dress is to be able to wear it without a bra. Guess what?! I am! I chose to use Cotton Lycra for the lining on both versions to provide a bit more support. I am a C-cup bra size and think if I was larger I would add power net or a heavier weight athletic for the lining instead. 

I measure at the bottom end of the size large based off my full bust measurement. I opted to sew the size medium though as I know I fit that sizing better with PSCO patterns. There were a handful of other testers that chose to size down as well. Keep that in mind and make a muslin first to test sizing. 

The pattern includes recommendations to include elastic in the neckline and band. This is optional but I find it very necessary. I added clear elastic to the neckline to keep it from drooping from the angles of the halter being tied. I also added 1" knit elastic in the underbust band to keep it from riding up. 

The top is finished with binding that also creates the halter ties. Unfortunately my coverstitch decided it didn't love DBP binding with the floral version so I switched to using my sewing machine with a mid length straight stitch. This worked really well and had enough stretch. 

The Cotton Lycra for binding though was a breeze on my coverstitch. I love how fun this Star Wars print is for a crop. This was the last remaining scrap of this fabric I purchased at Joann a couple years ago. I paired it with black Cotton Lycra from Knitpop that I bought in bulk. 

My biggest struggle with the crop top is how to style it. I can totally see this halter made with swim but as everyday wear, it's harder for me to envision. I've styled it with both black athletic leggings and a crushed velvet circle skirt for different looks. 

For my niece I chose to make the knee length Haven for her. She doesn't feel comfortable in a crop top so more coverage seemed like the obvious choice. This dress has a faux wrap look but plenty of coverage to avoid showing too much. It's constructed with 3 full width skirts attached together and then gathered. There's a lot of volume from this and a great gathered look. 

I did struggle with attaching the skirt to the bodice as the front has 2 layers of densely gathered skirts on top of each other attaching to 2 layers of bodice. I think I would choose to add a half circle skirt to the bodice instead just as that's my preference over gathers. 

A tip: After attaching the skirt to the bodice, cut a piece of clear elastic equal to the bodice size. Attach it so it is in the round and then add it to the inside of the bodice/skirt seam with a seaming machine and stretch stitch. This will help hold the weight of the skirt and remove the buckling like I have below. 

The DBP floral I used for both my nieces dress and my crop is the burgundy version of Jay from Mily Mae Fabrics. This fabric was available in a teal color way that sold out quickly. It's a great print for fall and winter but with the pops of color works for year round. 

The Haven is available in Girls or Women's for $7 each. If you chose to purchase more than one pattern, go here to see the discount codes to build your own bundle. This applies to the new release and on sale patterns too. The sale pricing is good through Monday July 29th. 

My posts may feature affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase from these links, I receive a small percentage in compensation at no cost to you. I may have received patterns or products to test or review but the opinions I voice are my own.