Neve Wrap Top

The Neve

Difficulty Level = Beginner 

The Neve is beautifully oversized, loose and flowing. Perfect for wearing with skinny jeans or pencil skirts! Plus, it can be made from knit or woven fabric so you can showcase your favorite fabrics and prints. 

The back hem is curved, while the front hem is straight with a gather across the front. The sleeves are oversized and held back by optional tabs. The front diagonal is self-faced so you don’t have to cut separate facing or worry about it flipping out. There’s no fastening at the front, you just slip it over your head. Comfortable and elegant!

Our Facebook group is a great place to get help, share your tips and creations! We are a friendly bunch, and we love to help and see what you have made.

Please read the full instructions before getting started.

Wash, dry, and press your fabric before starting your project. A bit of prep now prevents shrinking and means your garment will stay the same size you made it.

Never leave a child or baby unattended or allow to sleep in a garment made from one of our patterns with ties, snaps, buttons, or anything they could remove, choke on, or get caught on. Always use caution if you are unsure. We love our patterns, but we love your bundles of joy more!

Size Range

Womens XXS-5XL

Size Chart

This pattern is drafted to the sizes listed below. If you are between sizes, choose the larger size and adjust the pattern to remove the extra width to achieve the intended fit.

Finished Measurements (Inches)

• General fit 
  • This is a very loose fitting top. 
  • It is not designed to be fitted in any area except to sit well behind the neck. The rest of the garment will be loose and drapey. 
  • The sleeves should be full length without the optional tab, and between full and ¾ length with the tab. 
  • The curved back hem should cover the bottom. 
  • The front has a cross over drape with no fastenings. Many body shapes and bust sizes will find the drape fully covers the body and stays closed while wearing, while others may prefer to wear a cami underneath. The weight of the fabric will also affect this. Heavier and more drapey fabrics will stay closed more easily. 
  • The front hemline is quite high to give some waist definition and should sit just below the belly when your arms are down.
  • The garment is gathered at the front hemline but it does not hug the hips.
• Sizing – Sizing is different in different countries and stores, so please measure your model before picking your size. The ready-to-wear size your model normally fits into may be different from our size chart.
• Picking your size – When picking your size, if you fall between sizes, go for the size with the correct bust measurement. That way the shoulder and neck area is likely to fit well. Then, grade out or in to the correct waist and hip size.
• Height adjustment – The pattern is designed for a height of 5 foot 6 inches. If you are taller or shorter, adjust using the lengthen/shorten lines on the pattern pieces. These will adjust the height of the bodice. You may find you also need to adjust the sleeves, do this at the hem of the sleeve.
• Bust adjustment – The pattern is designed for a sewing C cup. Every person is a slightly different shape and the top will sit differently on different bust shapes and silhouettes. It is a very loose, flowing top so the bust fit is very forgiving. We found in testing that we did not need to make any alteration to the pattern for cup sizes A through to J, however, if you are unsure if you may need a full bust adjustment, do a muslin and adjust accordingly. Please also note that on cup sizes larger than a C, you may depending on your body shape find the bust lifts the fabric and makes it shorter at the front. In this case, we would recommend to either do a full bust adjustment, or lengthen the front pattern pieces. A muslin will help you determine what is best for your body shape.
• Elastic – The elastic across the front will gather the front so it is the same width as the back piece at the waist. It will still be loose and not fitting around the waist. If you wish it to be slimmer fitting around the waist, slim the pattern pieces at the side seams and shorten the elastic to fit.
• Muslin – To get a perfect fit, make a muslin (test garment) out of practice / old fabric to see if you want to make any fit adjustments.
• If you get stuck with fitting, see our favorite resources on our Pinterest Sewing Fitting Advice board.  

You will need light to medium weight knit or woven fabric for this pattern: 

• A fabric with drape (such as rayon spandex, georgette, rayon, chiffon, or crepe de chine) will give a softer feel to the top with a more flowing look.
• A fabric with more body (such as a quilting cotton, linen, or taffeta) will give more shape to the top and make it more boxy, oversized and structured looking. It will also sit a little higher at the front hemline due to the fabric not falling in a straight line from the bust down.
• Remember when picking your fabric that a fabric with drape will give beautiful folds and movement. A fabric without drape that is stiffer will look more boxy and oversized. 
• NOTE – The front panels are cut on the bias. This means the diagonal line across the front of the bust is on the grainline and won’t stretch or change shape while wearing it. It also helps the front of the top drape beautifully. It does however use more fabric to cut the top like this, and means for a directional print it will run diagonally across the front of the top in opposite directions (e.g. a stripe will make a V shape running along each front diagonal). You can cut the front left and front right pieces, so a directional piece runs straight down the front, however the drape will change and the front opening may stretch. We would strongly advise a muslin if you wish to make changes to the grainline direction.

Fabric Requirements 45 inches/115 cm wide (in YARDS) 

Fabric Requirements 60 inches/150 cm wide (in YARDS)   

Settings

The pattern is a separate download. Choose either the US letter paper, A4 paper, or A0 paper size based on the printer you wish to use. If you are in the US or Canada then your printer will likely use US letter paper. Other regions normally use A4 paper. Some people prefer to print their patterns at a print shop: A0 is best in this case.

Print at 100%.

On the second page, you will find a 1-inch and a 3-inch square test box. Print this page first, on its own, and measure these squares.

Once you are happy that the test box is accurate, print the rest of the pattern pages.

Please follow this video for information and assistance on assembling this pattern.

Also, please note that some Rebecca Page patterns and projects also come with cut files and a printable design page which you can use to plan your project if you wish. These are provided in a separate section below to avoid any confusion!

Cut each of the pieces according to the directions on the pattern piece. Seam allowances are all included so just cut them as is.

Cutting Charts – All pattern pieces are included, however if you prefer to cut using a cutting chart, the dimensions for the rectangular pieces (in INCHES) are below:

Tips for Sewing with Knit Fabrics

Using a serger is not a necessity to sew with knit fabrics! Here are a few tips to get the best results on a regular sewing machine:

• Use a ball point needle of a size appropriate to your fabric when working with knits – The ball point needle has a slightly rounded tip and will prevent from damaging the fibre. Use ball point pins or clips and, if you can’t, use regular pins into the seam allowance and you should be just fine.
• Use a stretch stitch – You can use either a short and narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch (lightning bolt stitch) for construction. Test on a scrap of fabric to find which stitch and tension settings work best for you. You don’t want the fabric to pucker under your stitches.
• Your machine might have many fancy stretch stitches and you are welcome to play with them, but often the basic zigzag or stretch stitch are just right.
• Use a walking foot – Using a walking-foot is not a necessity but it is highly recommended when working on a stretchy knit. The walking-foot helps to prevent one layer of fabric from stretching out while sewing. Both layers of fabrics are fed at the same time under your needle.
• Reduce your presser foot tension – Some machines will allow you to change your presser foot tension. Check your manual to see how to reduce your presser foot tension. Reducing tension will prevent your fabric from stretching while it goes through the machine.
• Use a ball point twin-needle (double needle) for top stitching – Using a twin-needle will give you a regular double line of straight stitches on the right side and a short and stretchy zigzag on the wrong side. Alternately, if you don’t own a twin needle, you can use a medium size zigzag stitch for hemming and topstitching. I like to lengthen my stitch a little when top stitching with the twin needle. Test on a scrap of fabric to find what works best for you.
• Finishing the seams – Because knits don’t fray, it isn’t strictly necessary to finish your seams. That being said, you will achieve a more polished and durable look if you do an overcasting or zigzag stitch on your raw edges.

Here is an example of some of the stitches you could use.

From left to right: Ballpoint twin-needle, narrow zigzag, stretch stitch (lightning bolt), overcasting.

½ inch seam allowance included (¼ then ¼ for French seams) – Top stitching ¼ inch – Basting ⅛ inch

Preparation – 

1. MARKINGS – Transfer all pattern markings and notches to the fabric using a disappearing ink pen or chalk.
2. BACK FACING – Iron the interfacing to the wrong side of the Back Facing piece.

Sewing –

1. FRONT FACING – Fold the Front Facing ½ inch to the wrong side and press. Repeat for the other Front Facing.
2. BACK – Stitch/serge or use a French seam to join the two Back pieces down the center back. With right sides together, pin the Back Facing to the back neckline of the bodice and stitch. Understitch the seam allowance to the facing. Clip into the curve, until just before you reach the stitching line. Flip the facing over so that the wrong sides are together and press. Baste each of the short edges of the facing to the top of the shoulder. 
3. FRONT HEM – Place your Right Front piece right side up. Now place the Left Front piece on top of the right piece, again with the right side up. Pin along the bottom edge and stitch. Trim your seam allowance to neaten. Pin your elastic to the bottom seam allowance of the front. Using a narrow zig zag stitch, stitch your elastic to the bottom seam allowance of the top. Pick up the Left Front piece and flip it around so that it is now under the Right Front piece. Both pieces will still be right side up and the raw edges will be in between them. Press the bottom edge.
4. SHOULDER SEAMS – Either stitch/serge or use a French seam to attach the front to the Back along the shoulder seams.
5. BACK HEM – Fold the hem towards the wrong side ¼ inch twice and press. Stitch close to the folded edge.
6. SIDE SEAMS – Either stitch/serge or use a French seam to attach the front to the Back along the bottom of the Sleeves and down the side seams.
7. SLEEVE HEM – Fold the hem towards the wrong side ¼ inch twice and press. Stitch close to the folded edge.
8. OPTIONAL SLEEVE TABS – Fold the Tab in half so that the long edges meet and the fabric is right sides together. Pin down the long edge and stitch. Trim the seam allowance and then turn the Tab inside out. Fold the short edges of the Tab in so that there are not any raw edges. Pin the Tab to the inside of the Sleeve at the notch, and stitch along the short edge. Pin the other end of the Tab to the right side of the Sleeve. Stitch to form a loop containing the cuff. Repeat for the other Sleeve.

Congratulations, your Neve is done. Enjoy! 

We would love to hear how you got on and see photos of your finished project!

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