It’s actually been a little more spring-like lately. Hurrah!

So I’m sharing this, which reminds me of clouds of white blossom; a loose-fitting top made out of white lawn cotton, which has very delicate swirls of white embroidery.

The pattern is one of those “Oh I love it/no I hate it/no I love it” ones; the sadly now OOP Simplicity 1315.

I initially loved it because of the raglan sleeves and pleats, and then hated it because it just seemed WAAAAY too voluminous. Surely it would look like a tent on me?

And then, last July, I had a last-minute invitation to visit Plum Village in the south of France. It’s a Buddhist monastery founded by legendary teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh, and the dress code asked that arms and legs be covered up.

Fair enough. It IS a religious centre, after all.

The only trouble was, the temperature was set to be 30 degrees centigrade, and climb higher. And all the weather-appropriate stuff still left in the shops was skimpy as all get-out – not that I had any time to go anywhere to shop!

So what’s a girl to do? The only thing she CAN do; she hits her patterns, and shops her stash. And I FINALLY had a use for this near-ancient delicate white lawn cotton, with its delicate embroidery, which wasn’t too girly or too complicated (lord, I did NOT have time for complicated).

In case anyone has the unused pattern in THEIR stash, or is tempted to pick one up – heck, go for it. The thing came together so darn easily, and with the right fabric it’s airy and delicate rather than tent-like. Although if tent-like’s your thing, it’s probably good for that, too.

The only real alteration I made was chopping several inches off the bottom, taking it to high-hip length; I planned to wear it with a long white gathered skirt, and was in danger of looking like a stack of meringues otherwise.

And was it suitable for wafting around a monastery in the south of France? You know, it really was; I felt like a little fluffy white cloud as I wafted about between talks and meditations.

And I’m sure that helped me to let my thoughts drift away as easily, too 🙂