Another Skirt, Another Top

Yesterday was a banner sewing day for me, with almost 2 pieces completely finished from conception to end. The only thing I didn't finish was hemming the top, and darn it, my family was hungry and I didn't want to be left behind when they headed out to our favorite Thai restaurant.

Some details:
Top: organic cotton jersey, fabric.com, Butterick 4789
Skirt: cotton sateen (?) probably from fabric.com last year, mostly self drafted with assistance from Sherry of pattern ~ scissors ~ cloth. The link goes to her Miranda skirt pattern.
Resin necklace: Earlybird Creations
Leather bangle bracelets: Amy Fine Design

I like the top, but there is a tendency for the front to have a gap at the wrap area. Looks ok in the picture, so, whew! Also, the fabric is a wee bit flimsy. I like my tees to have fabric with a bit more heft. Oh, and the front wrap part also likes to have kind of a weird poof just under the bust in the middle. I'm thinking it must look worse looking down at it. I didn't put in the back darts. This picture explains why.

Yeah. I actually like it better tucked in, but to Psycho Sue... yep, my right hip is higher. Pretty obvious in this picture. I've been dealing with it since puberty, but any hem planning is purely by chance. Anyway, I think tucked in with the belt would be the best look. At least with this top.

As for the skirt, I wanted to sew the pleats down, and actually I did, but something went horribly wrong with my math, and it was not a good look. The waistband is a bit stiff for my taste, and possibly a bit too wide, but I'll fix that with the next skirt.  Also, the stiffness of the waistband kind of makes it stand up awkwardly. More zipper woes here, and I'm totally blaming Sherry* and her RTW ideas of using a 3/8" seam allowance, which is what I used. I just needed the extra width of a 5/8" allowance to properly do the lapped zipper I was planning. Alas, it was not meant to be, but the busy print pretty much hides the zipper and its top stitching.

Oh, and yes, before you say anything, I like the length with this style. Plus, just wait til you see the top I really have planned to wear with it. Um, it's still in the planning stages though.

*Sherry, if you happen to read this, you are amazing, and have the best tutorials!! Double checking the math on your pleat placement is priceless advice that I failed to heed, and cursing ensued. For that I blame the U.S. insistence on inches, etc., and the sewing world's insistence on eighths.

One Last Top -- Vogue 8151

I meant to have this top done by Friday, and actually did have it cut out Friday afternoon, with plans to have an evening sew-a-thon when Mother Nature decided to have other ideas. Power went off at our house Friday around 7:30-ish, and by the time it came back on at 10:30 I was ready for bed.

Ah, well, I did make it yesterday, but not in time to take pictures before family demands. Excuses, excuses. Here it is:

I'm trying out a Patty Snug Bug superwoman pose. I like it! (the pose). Yes, the fabric really is that neon, as well. It's a Michael Miller interlock knit from fabric.com, and it is so soft! This Vogue 8151 pattern wasn't in my queue, but it was in my stash. I've had some wool jersey that was in a queue in my head until suddenly it was spring. Y'all know how that goes.

Anyway, back to the pattern. I made it have short sleeves, obviously, and cut out size C which was the largest in the envelope, and matched my measurements. I did a quick and dirty tissue fit, declared it good to go, and whacked away. I want to LOVE this top, but there are some nitpicky fit issues that make me only love it. Not that the general public will be able to tell, but I'll confess to you, so you can proceed accordingly should you choose to make this.

#1. The shoulders are just too darn wide. It wouldn't have mattered much if I had even gone down to the size A, because they were all basically the same. Next time, I'll have to scoop some off at the shoulder/sleeve line.
#2. I should have cut out the size B. Even though there are 1" seam allowances figured in for knit differences, it really should be snugger for the ruching to work right, and it's a little baggy on me (just a little), and I used every bit of the 1" SA and more.

Which brings me to #3. Apparently, I can't get it through my thick head that wraps, even faux crossover type wraps like this one, might need some adjusting. Thankfully, in the instructions, it guides you to baste the sides first for fitting. Yes, basting is WAY easier to pick out of knit. To achieve a wee bit of modesty, you can see in the above pic that I simply pulled the front piece out further than the back to tighten it up. I did it on both sides. Clearly, when I make this again, I'll do that adjustment prior to cutting out.

Finally, and this is not really a fit thing, just an annoying thing, the ruching on the sides is made with 1/4" elastic stretched between two small circles and zigzagged onto the seam allowance. Well, this particular interlock knit is a bit hefty, and the elastic just isn't enough to accomplish the goal. I tried with both regular and clear elastic, and ended up using 2 pieces of elastic per side, and it still isn't really gathered like in the picture. Not being as gathered meant I folded up 2 inches for the hem instead of the recommended 1 inch.

All of that sounds like I'm dissatisfied, but really, I'm not. Just a few things I'll pay more attention to the next time I use this pattern.

Onto bottoms!! (and my RTW jacket... mustn't forget that!)

Seeing Red -- More Tops Finished

Nope, I'm not mad, you'll see the red soon enough. Oh, what the heck... here's the first red:

This is New Look 6981, made from an organic cotton jersey knit from fabric.com. It had one "I hate it" review on Pattern Review, so I was a little worried, but I don't. Hate it, that is. In fact, in one afternoon, I actually made 2.

Why? Well, I bought 2 yards of this knit really on spec. I got these 2 tops perfectly out of the fabric, so the 2nd will go to daughter, Laura. Hope she wants a red cowl neck tee.

Some details. Both of us have really narrow shoulders, so I started with the 10 (Laura, pay no attention to these numbers) at the shoulders and necklines, front and back. As I traced down the armhole, I merged out to the 14, and then went straight 14 down the sides for Laura, and graded out to the 18 for me. The fabric is soft and kind of clingy, but I may just take in the bottom part of the sides on me, as it stands out just a bit. Holding it up for the picture, I may have to take the entire sides in for Laura. Her measurements matched the 14 perfectly though. To keep them apart as I sewed (and I made them simultaneously), when I was doing the back neckline facing, I inserted different color ribbon "tags." Laura got the black gingham one.

My right hip is a bit higher, so I think that explains the uneven looking hem. You can see better from the back how it flares out just a bit more than I would like at the hem.

But wait! There's a 3rd red top. This one is actually a RTW top from Ann Taylor that I bought last year on sale. I'm counting it as a half for the challenge though because it was too long, and I just never wanted to wear it. Since I had the coverstitch machine threaded with red, though there were no excuses. I chopped off 3 inches and rehemmed the darn thing. It's a little snug, but I'm back on Weight Watchers, so, fingers crossed, it will look better by summer.

I had kind of forgotten about it when I ordered the red jersey. Oh well. Boy, do I need a haircut.

McCalls 5522 -- Top #2 -- Done!

There were 2 button front tops in my haul from Faye's giveaway, and originally, I had planned to make the Simplicity one for this challenge. In a last minute change of thought, I went with McCalls 5522 instead. I made View B, without any sleeves.

I really had not anticipated it taking me all week, so I'm a little behind schedule in both this challenge and the RTW Jacket sew along. Hopefully, this weekend, I can make better progress. Luckily, I have a couple easier knit tops that will be next in line (and have just been added to the queue), to help that along.

This was my test photo and other than the lighting (doesn't it look sunny?), and I wanted to show off the iris behind me. I had nothing to do with them as they came with the house. Right after the self-timer went off, it started raining and my outdoor photo session came to an abrupt halt.

Back to the top... I love it! The fabric is chambray from fabric.com. This envelope had the sizes 12-20 in it, and it was perfect. I started with the 12 at the shoulders, used the size 12 line for the armscyes, ending at the size 14 line for the rest of the upper pieces. For the lower pieces, I started at the 14 line, and graded my way out to the 16 for the hips. I ended up using more like 3/8" seamlines for the lower pieces, except at the top where it connects to the upper, because while it fit, it just felt a little snug.

Inside now. The back fits pretty well. I possible should have scooped in just a bit for the sleeveless-ness look, but that's a minor quibble.

I tried to crop in up close for the topstitching which is kind of a light khaki color that I feel like blends really well, but still adds some interest. The "buttons" are really snaps that I just found for a quarter at a recent estate sale. You can really see them that well (can you click on the photo and see it larger--maybe) but they look like regular white shirt buttons. They probably didn't go on any quicker though, because there was a learning curve for getting them "installed". One button was crushed from over vigorous hammering. When they mean place it upside down on a thick fabric pad, well, they kind of mean it.

Butterick 5328 -- Top #1 -- Done!

One down! How many more to go? But can someone please tell me, why, oh why, am I always drawn to the wrap top patterns? They always seem to end up too revealing, and this one is no exception. I did some tissue fitting, and then did a pin fitting, and all looked like it was going to work. Yeah, yeah, I know a muslin is always a solution, but time is of the essence here!

Anyway, it does still work with a tank underneath.

I do look so flat in this picture. I feel like it looks better in person. This is one of the patterns that I won with Faye's giveaway. I actually had to make a lot of changes to the pattern, so the fact that it fits this well is pretty amazing. The smallest size in the envelope is a 16. That works for the hips, but my shoulders are a 12, so I had to do the opposite of what I usually do.

The technique I used to sort of grade down to a 12 was kind of a guesstimating affair. Using the grading lines for the larger sizes as a guide, I drew inside the size 16 line to make a new size 12. That's really just clear as mud, and I didn't take any pictures. So, say there was 1/2" from the 16 to the 20, I drew 1/2" inside the 16 line to make a size 12. And then followed my new line back out to the 16 through the waistline to the hem.

Those roses look kind of weird from the back. I originally bought this fabric to make a dress, but I think it's plenty of print in just a top. It'll really look good with some white pants or a white skirt.