We firmly believe that anyone can sew anything with patience and perseverance, but sometimes it helps to understand how time-consuming or challenging a pattern will be to sew. Here's how we rate the difficulty of our patterns:
Beginner (⭑): Appropriate for a true beginner with simple style lines and details, quick to sew with no closures.
Confident Beginner (⭑⭑): Achievable for beginners who are willing to learn a new skill, may include more design features and techniques (ie. zippers, buttons, facings, etc). Relatively quick to sew.
Intermediate (⭑⭑⭑): More details and style lines, may include interesting details like a zipper fly or topstitching, projects can take 6+ hours to sew.
Advanced (⭑⭑⭑⭑): Still achievable for most sewists, but patterns will include more pieces and more details, and can take 8+ hours to sew.
Challenging(⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑): Complex, skill heavy projects like tailoring and bra-making. Again, achievable for most sewists but be prepared to spend 10+ hours on these types of projects.
Details
Supplies
Sizing
Info+
Channel your inner “je ne sais quoi” with the Marine Top, our twist on an iconic Breton marinière. With a gently flared sleeve, slouchy fit, dropped shoulder, and classic details like a wide bateau neckline, topstitched facing, and split hem, you’ll feel like you stepped right out of a French New Wave film in this chic knit top.
• View A has a 3/4 length sleeve with a standard neckline facing.
• View B has a wrist skimming sleeve and features a shoulder-wide facing enclosed in the armscye.
We suggest stable knits such as mid to heavyweight cotton jersey and interlock, French terry, sweatshirt fleece, ponte, and double knits. Striped fabrics are ideal for a classic Breton look, but solids work just as well.
Yardage (sizes 0-20) - 58inch / 1.5 m wide
VIEW A - 3/4 SLEEVE + STANDARD FACING ~ Sizes 0-8 = 1.5 yd (1.4 m), Sizes 10-20 = 1.75 yd (1.6 m)
VIEW B - FULL LENGHT SLEEVE + WIDE FACING ~ Sizes 0-20= 1.75 yd (1.6 m),
Yardage (sizes 14-32) - 58inch / 1.5 m wide
VIEW A - 3/4 SLEEVE + STANDARD FACING ~ Sizes 14-20 = 1.75 yd (1.6 m), Sizes 22-32 = 2 yd (1.8 m)
VIEW B - FULL LENGHT SLEEVE + WIDE FACING ~ Sizes 14-26 = 2 yd (1.8 m), Sizes 28-32 = 2.25 yd (2 m)
Additional Supplies
Fusible knit interfacing (note you may not be able to interface textured knits like fleece + terry)
I love being a Crew member. The patterns are great...the community amazing...and the excitement and mystery of each months new patterns is delightful. I have enjoyed every pattern I made and can't wait to see what is to come.
The primary reason I love Crew is because of the supportive environment I've found in the Crew Community. While it is super exciting to get a brand new pattern every month, it's even more fulfilling to see everyone's makes, get advice, and hear encouragement from other sewists. I signed on for another year about 6 months into my subscription, and I plan to stay in for a long time.
Also - the patterns are gorgeous, as you'd expect from Closet Core. Lots of cool design details and well drafted :)
I am a huge fan of Crew - it is the best thing I did for myself this past year, and I'm already looking forward to 2025 (I've renewed, of course). I bought a bunch of individual patterns during the first year, but joining as an Unlimited member was the right call for me. I LOVED speculating about what the next pattern would be, receiving a little hint the day before, and then waking up on the first to a little gift in my inbox! I'm a bit of a slow sewist, so I've only made 4 Crew patterns so far (with a 5th currently cut out on my table). All have been well-drafted and fun to sew - I wear each one regularly. Having a community of sewing enthusiasts to share with and learn from without having to turn to social media has also been incredible. All in all, just a great use of my money - I can't recommend it highly enough.
