January Knit's!!

This year I wanted to make some changes to how I shared my sewing projects with my readers. Specifically the garments I make for myself by showing them in real pictures of me wearing them. Honestly, it's just easier for me to put them on a form and take pics, but I always love seeing garments worn by their creators on blogs I read regularly.  It gives us all a better sense of how the pattern fits and looks, don't you think?  So this year it was my goal for me to model my own garment creations.  Unfortunately for me, I didn't get around to doing this in as timely a manner as I had planned.  I just kept on sewing and thought I would get to the pictures soon enough, but didn't.  Keep in mind, photography is a work in progress for me.  So, with that in mind, this is my first completed project from last month as part of the RTW Fast I'm participating in this year hosted by Sarah, from Goodbye Valentino.  If you're not familiar with this concept, you can read about it in my opening post, "Accepting a Sewing Challenge".  For my sewing plan, I decided to sew knit's in my first month of the challenge.  If you're interested in reading about my personal year long plan it's here, "Accepting a Sewing Challenge".

For my first garment this year, I used a blue and ivory heathered jersey. I've had this fabric in my stash for a while and love the soft, drapey hand.  It's a cotton/lycra blend, so it's super comfortable and was a breeze to sew.

I chose Simplicity #3790, version "B" with the sleeve length from view "A".  It's a mock wrap top with a dropped waistband. I didn't add the front inset piece as the pattern suggests for views A, B and C.  I chose to wear it over an ivory camisole instead. Unfortunately, this is an out of print pattern.

The Details

This pattern went together quickly, having only 4 pieces.  2 fronts, 1 back and then 2 waistband pieces.  I felt the garment was looking a little plain, so I cut a long strip of the jersey, 1 1/2" wide and made ruffled trim to embellish the entire neckline.  I finished both long edges of the jersey with my overlock machine in ivory thread to add a contrast to the ruffle.  I gathered the center of the strip with a machine basting stitch to create the ruffled effect. I stitched it all the way around the wrapped neckline and sewed on the waistband to finish it off.  It added a little something extra.  Ruffled embellishment details are popular in RTW fashion right now, however many times they don't finish the edges of the ruffles, leaving them raw.  I could have done that, but I liked the idea of introducing a color contrast with the ivory overlock thread.

I received quite a few messages asking about how I made the ruffle trim I added to the neckline, that I did a separate Picture Tutorial:  Making Ruffled Trim for those that are interested.

Likes/Dislikes

I didn't have any dislikes with this pattern.  The view I selected was a simple pattern to make and all the seams were sewn on my overlock machine and the neckline and sleeve hems were sewn with a cover stitch machine.  I do plan to sew this top again, however probably in a printed knit next time with a solid color front inset.  I have a fabric in mind for the next one, but I will make the short sleeve version (view "C") next time.

Tips 

Underneath in the front where the fabric wraps, I attached the ruffle trim flat.  I didn't want the ruffle to add any bulk right there at the center front, so I just made it flat.  I didn't want to cut it off at that point because the wrap isn't sewn closed and there was a possibility of that being seen.  This was the perfect solution to this issue for me.

In the end, I'm very satisfied with this top.  It's very comfortable and is "denim friendly" which is always a plus for me.  I tend to gravitate to the "blues".  I hope if this is a pattern in your stash that you will pull it out and give it a try.

Have a Happy Creative Day!!

Roxanne

UPDATE:  What did I learn from taking photos of myself in my new garment?

I learned that looking at yourself in the mirror and looking at yourself in a photo of the same garment looks differently.  I  didn't notice that I didn't like the sleeve length when I wore my new top for the first time.  I only noticed that it wasn't flattering in the photos.  I have long slim arms and this sleeve length needed improvement.  I plan to shorten the sleeves now by 3".  I learned a valuable lesson on how important it is to make the effort to take photos.