Photos-V9169

I have enjoyed my vaca and holiday.  I was able to finish V9169 and I completed Butterick 6392; more about the Butterick sweater jacket in my next post.

I was able to wear the Vogue top today and took a few photos of the finished garment.  I really like this pattern and will make it again making some additional changes to the fit.  It is a rather fitted through the waist and hips and I would like a little more room in that area so that when wearing over jeans as I did today it is not so form fitting.  My biggest critic, DH, liked the top and thought it was slenderizing.

Here are photos of me wearing with jeans.

Back view

Front view

Left side

Right side

Some other adjustments I will make-scoop out the front neckline a little more.  For cold weather, the high jewel neckline feels pretty good when outside.  I like the fit of the shoulder, I cut off 3/8 at the shoulder area tapering to nothing at the front and back notch.  I like the length somewhat, has more of a tunic feel at this length than if shorter.  I think this link will work well with leggings.

One thing of note, it is important to make sure you mark placement lines for front and back upper and lower pieces.  I could have done a better job. I wanted to be able to work with the placement due to changes made in upper front and back pieces.

I followed the instructions for this pattern.  Next time I think I will use my method of sewing front upper and lower pieces together first and the same for the back and then attach sleeves and sew side seams.  

I am pleased with the outcome and the next one will be even better.  I may not sew another one for awhile as I have so many other top patterns, including some TNT that I want to sew next.

Quick View

I completed the Butterick 6183 top. I am okay with the blouse.I have a few dislikes and some are my issues and not the pattern.  I was so focused on fitting the bust,the back, the waist, the hips that I did not focus on the shoulder and where the shoulder ended.
I don't like the insertion of the zipper as they have you do it. Next time, I will insert the zipper on the side, or adjust the back opening to a full seam and insert the zipper there .

Here are a few photos of the completed blouse.

My next project will be the Presto Top by Savage Coco. I have a red rayon slub knit that I just washed to be used for this top. This was just recently acquired from Fabric Mart. More posting and photos to follow

KS Progress

Linda LaMona @danvillegirl Front under overl...Instagram photo | Websta (Webstagram)

The link above will take you to photo of the front pattern piece that is under the overlay.  Not the best colors to show the actual fabric.

I have made some good progress on the top since Friday, when I finally had/took time to actually do some sewing.

Missing

I have missed blogging; some life things have kept me from blogging of late.  I am back.

I have finished one garment since I last posted.  It is knit top using Simplicity 1199.

I used fabric from my stash.  This is my first version of this top and let me say this pattern runs large huge!  Using the finished pattern measurements was not reliable.  Having read reviews on PR I was prepared to make adjustments as others said this ran large.

I was able to make fitting adjustments with princess and side seams.  All of those adjustments have produced a wearable top for around the house and quick trips to store.  It is still to large in the shoulder area and bra strap will show as it is also rather wide neckline.  The neckband with my knit fabric did not work well and I ended up using bias tape at the neckline.

Some photos of the finished top.

Back

Front and back hemline

Front

More later.  Off to get dressed for work, work, work!

Vogue 1306

My first top for the Top Sew Along is Vogue 1306.   I tried it on and I really like it.  I plan to take a vacay to the beach this summer and I see this as a loose fitting top for beachwear.

Here are a few shots of the top on a hanger; my Sunday appearance is not for picture taking of garments on me.

It still needs hemming as do the sleeves.  The back is longer than the front and this is not seen on the model wearing this version.  I like though.

This is the back view.

Here is a close up of the placket.  This was the most challenging part for me and coupled with fiddly fabric it became a real issue.  It is OK but need to learn how to do this better.

Final shot is the inside view of the fuse and gather tape.  It is a pretty good product to use as an alternative way of making gathers.  You lay the tape down so the blue thread is on top, the white thread is fusible thread.  You tie off one end of the blue threads and then pull the other end to make the gathers.

I think my next top is a repeat of a previous Vogue top I made with short sleeves.  The fit is perfected so just cut, sew and wear!

Renfrew Top and Mood Fabric

I spent last evening making pattern adjustments to the Renfrew Pattern.  I made my usual FBA, swayback, upper round back, forward shoulder adjustment.  With the FBA I eliminated the resulting dart using a FBA method I learned from Debbie Cook's FBA tutorial.

I am going to make the cowl neck top.  The fabric is a gold metallic type knit fabric from Mood Fabrics.  It really feels soft to the touch and the metallic threads are not scratchy as I remember another metallic knit I sewed many, many years ago.  The knit color below looks a little darker than the actual fabric.  The wrong side is a flat color and has more black showing.  I think either side could be used as the right side.

The fabric had been previously washed.  I was able to cut out the fabric this AM and set up both serger and sewing machine to sew.  Updates later.

Mixed feelings

I am almost finished with the Butterick top (pictured in the upper side bar) and I have very mixed feelings about the top.  It will probably become one of those tops that I will wear mostly around the house.  We will see after I add the collar.

In previous post I mentioned that this is a short top!  I added an inch to the length and believe me it is still a short top.  You can see this with the model; and even pin fitting the top I thought that an inch addition would be sufficient.  With that an extra inch it comes just, I mean just, to the bottom of the waist band on my jeans.

There is nothing but scraps left over from cutting out the pattern, so not any extra to use creatively to lengthened this top.  I think it will look okay with a tank top underneath that is longer than this top.  These are just the mixed thoughts I have in wanting to make this top work.

The sleeves are very full from elbow down and I knew that they would be again from the view on the pattern envelope.  I wasn't sure how I would like them and I am pretty sure I don't.  I plan to mark from elbow down eliminating some of the fullness in that area. They are also very long and I always have to reduce sleeve length about an inch to 1 1/2 inches.  Even reducing the length they are still long.

I also like the asymmetrical top included in this pattern and plan to give that a try also.  I do know that I will raise that neckline and perhaps reduce the width of it as well.  I can tell from the current top before attaching the collar that it is wider and lower than I would wear it if it did not have the collar.

Pamela's Pattern perfected!

I thoroughly reviewed the fitting issues with the tested boatneck top.  I realized that I needed to align what becomes the shoulder seam with the shoulder point at the top of the arm on the base pattern and not what I had done previously.  In doing that the armholes lined up correctly and this allowed for the forward shoulder adjustments made on the base pattern.

Once I did that, I tested a second top from a lighter weight knit fabric that I had purchased from Fabric.com several years ago.
I never liked the color or the look of the fabric once I got it. It is has been in stash waiting for the right moment and it was just enough to make the front and back test garment.   It worked well for the test garment and after making the correct shoulder alignment, I have found a perfect boatneck top for me!!!







I cut out another top this AM using fabric acquired from Gorgeous Fabrics several years ago. (Sorry no photo of the fabric at this time.)  It is an unusual looking knit with a someone ombre look to it yet all the color shading is on the diagonal.  It goes well with a recent crepe fabric purchase that will become a skirt.  I have enough of this knit fabric to make several more tops, or a skirt, or perhaps dress.  The back of this knit could be used as the right side as well.

I had planned to use another fabric but decided that the boatneck was not the right style for this fabric.  It will become a top eventually.  Perhaps better as a cowl neck.

I also have another pattern waiting to be cut out and pin fitted to make another knit top, more of sweater knit.  This knit has been around for over 12 years; it is now aged enough to make a casual knit top using this Butterick pattern. I purchased the pattern to make the one the model is wearing; my fabric is a lot like the color of the cowl neck tunic and somewhat thicker.   The tunic pattern is very long and would need to be shorter for me.  The short version is not long enough.  I am a long waisted, short/petite person.  The length from waist to hip on me is very short.  So the shorter version I would have to lengthen by at least 1-2 inches for it to fall just below my waistline.  I am not sure that the boxy look is right for me and will have to see what  works best after pin fitting the pattern.

More updates later.