So this is the finished Surf to Summit top by FehrTrade. I was drawn to this pattern because I like long sleeve activewear tops with a zipper front. In fact, FehrTrade might be the only one making those kinds of sewing patterns (correct me if I’m wrong).
But before I can start talking about the top, I need to get something off my chest. Because when I only had the hemming left this happened…
Yes, I managed to serge through both the zipper, fabric, facing and the zip shield.
Since this happened very late at night, I kinda panicked and tried to save the front by doing this solution, lol! Oh well, if I had waited for a day or two, I might have come up with a better solution. But sewing comes with its highs and lows and sometimes it is not easy to think clearly. With that out of the way, let’s talk about the pattern and the modifications I did!
I added a zip pocket in the back. I love this kind of detailing in RTW so I wanted to mimic that look. I used the 3-thread flatlock on my serger with woolly nylon in the looper.
The back view. I went down half a size to make it more tight-fitting, I would say that the fit of this top is fitted but not skin-tight.
As a fun detail, I made the side panels white, mixing sport-mesh on top with Supplex in the lower half. I will say though that the side panels are quite wide and the seam hits almost at mid-bust, at least on me.
So let’s talk about the collar. The original pattern has a high collar, which looks cool but I struggled a bit with the facing and making the collar stand up properly. But due to my aforementioned mishap, I had to remove the collar, and instead, I added some ribbing and a flap to hide the flaws (didn’t really work tbh).
Overall I think the design is very cool, flattering and unique, but I would have prefered more narrow side panels, to make it easier to use mesh and other contrasting fabrics, which is something this pattern lends itself well too. The pattern also comes with a short sleeved version, which could work great for a bike jersey, but do note that you might want to adjust the pattern to make it more snug for that purpose. Plus there is a men’s version of this pattern too!
