I love the optimism of a good floral, but to me, wearing one is a bit tricky. The wrong floral can make me look like my grandmother (loved you granny, but…). And if the print is too pastel, it makes me feel fussy rather than fresh.  So, I tend to gravitate to florals that include bold colors or where the froufrou feeling is tamed by a bit of black.

When it comes to fashion, here’s the good news. This Spring, there are zillions to choose from! That makes it easy to give in to their Spring-y optimism because you can find one that matches your favorite color palate. I love the bold florals by Celine and how they paired them with black to balance out their sweetness.

And the floral Antonio Marras used here is so fresh! It even has a cool seventies vibe.

When I shop for fabric, I approach any floral with a bit of trepidation, which I toss aside willingly when said floral looks like it will go with my everyday staple– my favorite jeans. So, when I saw this floral tee-shirt knit, I just had to have it. It’s a print that includes my favorite bold colors; cobalt blue, black and fuchsia, with a back drop of gray. Instant love! A must have! (And of course, price is no object at a moment like this.)

The pattern I used is Butterick 5890, a top with tucks to define the waist, and a number of sleeve variations. I used View C, a tee with a front center seam and two long tucks on either side. The pattern is designed for light weight wovens, but since my knit was stable, I decided it could pass as a woven in a pinch.

One great thing about this pattern – – It doesn’t require much fabric. Since I’m small/short person, it took less than a yard and a half to make this tee, a plus since I have many (many!!) pieces in my fabric stash that are about that size. Any project that contributes to my Stash Reduction Project gets bonus points from me.

To balance out the floral’s intrinsic sweetness, I cut the sleeves from a contrast fabric, a black solid. I also used black binding at the neck, and at the hem to give the tee a bit more edge and shape.

The pattern went together quickly (an easy afternoon sew) and the tucks were easy once I had the fabric well marked. The trickiest part for me was raising the waist position, a must since I’m short waisted. Once I figured that out, it was a breeze. Oh, and because my fabric had a bit of stretch, I cut the pattern one size smaller to adjust for that.

It’s a comfy tee that goes well with dark pants, dark skirts, and (of course) my trusted jeans, which balances out the frofrou floral. But even with the black contrast, the tee still says Spring to me- – which is why this top belongs outside, swinging in the warm breeze….

Are you wild about this season’s florals, or do you think they belong in the past?