Hot off the heels of my new, favourite, maternity Kate Spade bow sweater, I decided I had to whip up another maternity top. I had bought this adorable mint printed jersey while traveling in Germany last summer and knew it was exactly the cute pop of colour I needed in my new maternity wardrobe.

When I bought the fabric, I knew immediately that this top had to have a Peter Pan collar. I turned to my copy of Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing  for a tutorial on how to make a great Peter Pan collar. Her step-by-step instructions are super easy to follow and I particularly appreciate how she explains how to get the collar to roll just so. She creates a pattern for a blouse with a front closure, so I had to adapt my pattern slightly for my regular old tee.

All I had to do was chop off the 5/8 seam allowance at the middle front and place that on the fold to get one continuous piece instead of two. It was super simple. Gertie also suggests interfacing the under collar, but I decided to interface both parts as I was working with a knit and didn’t want one half to get stretched out of shape. I used ultra lightweight interfacing so this didn’t add much bulk.

Having a stretchy top with a Peter Pan collar in my wardrobe already, I knew that I needed to make sure I had enough space to get my head through the collar by adding a small slit and button closure at the back.

This also turned out to be super simple. I cut a 1 1/2 inch slit down from the collar at the centre back. Pulling this slit open to create a (more or less) straight line, I bound it with a strip of the same fabric. Once bound, I steamed it back into shape, which creates a super cute little keyhole opening. I used a little bit of black elastic instead of doing a loop (which I considered, but decided against as it would have created too much bulk when I had to sew the ends into that binding).

I have made this pattern several times, but always bound any short-sleeved t-shirt collars and sleeves with the same fabric, whereas the pattern recommends ribbing. I decided to go for it this time as I already had a contrasting collar. I used leftover black ribbing from the Kate Spade bow sweater to bind the sleeves and bottom and am actually quite pleased with the effect!

After the Kate Spade bow sweater, this is easily my second favourite maternity top. I only wish I had made it sooner!