In my efforts to complete client projects for the holidays, I broke my rule of sewing for myself on the weekends for the last six weeks or so of the year. Now that I'm getting back on track, I decided it was time to re-institute that rule. I love this rule!
I've had Vogue 8593 in my queue for a while now. I bought the fabric and zipper at The Economy Shop for $1.75, and the thread, hook and eye were from my stash, leftover from other projects. I think the top took me 4-5 hours to sew, but if I did it again (using my altered pattern) I bet I could do it in about 2.5 hours.
And I'll likely do it again. I had to choose between longer length or sleeves due to the amount of fabric I had on hand. I choose long sleeves because it's getting cold here in the Chicago area and as much as I love dresses, I won't really be wearing them on a regular basis until April. The competition at Pattern Review this month is One Pattern, Many Looks and I'm thinking about doing a couple more versions of this top and putting myself in the mix. Gotta up the ante when you can!
In reading reviews for this pattern, I found that the only problem was with the facings - with all those pleats at the center front, the facings wouldn't lay flat. Ann at GorgeousFabrics.com solved this problem with binding at the neck, and all I had to do was to copy her excellent instructions. I cut a size 12 (one size down from what my measurements dictated) and thought I might have to take it in based on the garment measurements, but the opposite was true - I had to let the side seams out all the way to a 1/4" seam allowance because this knit has almost NO stretch. I added an inch to the arm length (and I'll add another inch the next time I make this) and slanted the shoulder slope from a size 12 to a size 10 (I don't know why this adjustment works or what it's called, but if I don't do it, I end up with extra fabric at the bust) and shaved a bit off the sleeve cap.
I decided to try an exposed zipper on this one, using the tutorial that Threads ran in Issue No, 162. I didn't like this look at first, but after seeing some cool versions of it online, I decided to give it a go. Not that big of a risk when you remember that the materials for this top came to less than $2! I think I like it.
I serged the sleeve and top hems and then left them as is partly because I needed the length, and partly because I thought it looked right with the exposed zipper.
I've had Vogue 8593 in my queue for a while now. I bought the fabric and zipper at The Economy Shop for $1.75, and the thread, hook and eye were from my stash, leftover from other projects. I think the top took me 4-5 hours to sew, but if I did it again (using my altered pattern) I bet I could do it in about 2.5 hours.
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| Vogue 8593 |
And I'll likely do it again. I had to choose between longer length or sleeves due to the amount of fabric I had on hand. I choose long sleeves because it's getting cold here in the Chicago area and as much as I love dresses, I won't really be wearing them on a regular basis until April. The competition at Pattern Review this month is One Pattern, Many Looks and I'm thinking about doing a couple more versions of this top and putting myself in the mix. Gotta up the ante when you can!
In reading reviews for this pattern, I found that the only problem was with the facings - with all those pleats at the center front, the facings wouldn't lay flat. Ann at GorgeousFabrics.com solved this problem with binding at the neck, and all I had to do was to copy her excellent instructions. I cut a size 12 (one size down from what my measurements dictated) and thought I might have to take it in based on the garment measurements, but the opposite was true - I had to let the side seams out all the way to a 1/4" seam allowance because this knit has almost NO stretch. I added an inch to the arm length (and I'll add another inch the next time I make this) and slanted the shoulder slope from a size 12 to a size 10 (I don't know why this adjustment works or what it's called, but if I don't do it, I end up with extra fabric at the bust) and shaved a bit off the sleeve cap.
I decided to try an exposed zipper on this one, using the tutorial that Threads ran in Issue No, 162. I didn't like this look at first, but after seeing some cool versions of it online, I decided to give it a go. Not that big of a risk when you remember that the materials for this top came to less than $2! I think I like it.
I serged the sleeve and top hems and then left them as is partly because I needed the length, and partly because I thought it looked right with the exposed zipper.
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| Please ignore the threads I forgot to clean up - oops! |
I've got a question for my fellow bloggers: What do you do when you fill up your blogger photo account? I just hit my limit and I couldn't upload photos for this post. I tried copying from my flickr stream and that didn't work, so I ended up pinning these photos to a pinterest board and then copying them from there - too many damn steps. I'd appreciate any solutions you have!
