Butterick 6285, or nobody likes boob webbing

So, I can tell you right now (if the title didn't give it away) that this project was not a success. I knew it wasn't going to be a success about twenty minutes into sewing it up and I contemplated just throwing it out there and then without wasting any more of my time. But there aren't many reviews of this pattern that I could find, so I thought it would be worthwhile to get it finished and contribute my thoughts, even if I throw it away as soon as the post goes up. I didn't hem the sleeves, though, because I'm never going to wear it and who cares.

Looks OK, right? WRONG. 

IMMENSE BOOB WEBBING. Also, the fact that I have voluntarily put this completely horrendous photo on the internet should be proof enough of my commitment to truth in all its forms. 

Butterick 6285 is one of the Gertie patterns, which I haven't tried before (outside of the Vintage Casual book, which is a different kettle of aardvarks). The main body of the top is made from a single pattern piece, duplicated to make the left and right sides of the top, so this one piece forms the front, the back, and the sleeve. It's possible that on women without G cups, this construction does not result in boobweb, and I have seen pictures in other reviews that would indicate as such, though I think all the photos I've seen have been more Pose One than Pose Two.  

The fit on me altogether is very strange: I made a 16 and it's big round the chest, really tight round the arms (and the top is fully lined, which makes it worse), and flapping loose at the waist. Well, at the ribcage, if we're being honest; this top is SUPER short. Because of the construction, I'm not quite sure how you alter for a longer length. This is almost a shrug in the back, and every review I've read talks about a similar problem.

If I pull down hard on the back, I can almost get it to reach my natural waist. Almost. For picture-taking purposes the top was really hard to pair with anything I own; it's too short to wear with even a high-waisted skirt, too tight to accommodate any kind of sleeve, and looks weird if you can see the dress fabric at the neckline. This is literally the only dress I have that works. 

I like that this top has interesting construction. I'm a nerd, I think that's cool. But I also don't see what purpose it serves here. Yes, there's no shoulder seam, but is there any benefit to having no shoulder seam? Is it to allow for especially tight grown-on sleeves? Why? Were people asking for that? Maybe it's just so that the pattern will be different from standard wrap tops and again, I can appreciate that. It's just that I would have preferred a less interesting pattern that didn't give me boobweb. Picky, picky, picky.

So, to sum up, this a bad top and I don't like it. I still really want a wrap top, though. I want something that reaches my waist, can be used as a layering piece and has a shoulder seam instead of immense boob webbing. Since I seem to have acquired some actual readers over the last month or so, I'll try asking: has anyone used a wrap top pattern that they liked and would be prepared to recommend?