Knit tops with a bit of interest to them are something I always need (I can find no evidence that I've ever come across a woven top I want to wear) and they're not quite as common as I'd like them to be. I'd been looking at McCalls 8003 for a while, and my main concern was that the boob window would be incompatible with my oversized bust and would end up looking indecent. But then there was a sale, and I decided to give it a go with this grey jersey I'd never found the right partner pattern for.
(I got a haircut! I didn't like it on the day because she flattened the absolute shit out of it, but after I washed it myself and styled it to keep a bit of volume in, it's the nicest cut I've had for a while.)
Anyway, it turns out that the boob window doesn't actually interact with the boobs at all, it sits quite high on the upper chest. So there aren't any decency issues. However, this is not what I had assumed when I was cutting out, and as a result the upper piece is very loose on me, as you can no doubt see. I managed to alter things a little and it's settled down a bit after a couple of wears, but I haven't been able to correct it entirely as the extra fabric really needed to come out of the centre front. I also think things are being pulled slightly out of whack by the sleeves - I never normally adjust for my biceps in jersey but this one has surprisingly little stretch given its composition and I could have done with a tiny bit more room. I think this too will correct itself a bit over time as the jersey is forced to deal with me flexing every time I notice a tiny bit more bicep definition. (I promise I don't do this where anyone else can see me, I know how annoying it is!)
The neckline on the pattern is an extremely tight jewel, and I literally couldn't get the neckband over my head. Admittedly I would have scooped it out a bit more even without the neckband issue - I think design-wise the very high neck is the right thing for the pattern, but I never like the look on me. So I hacked at it a bit and made a longer (and thinner! Why are so many neckbands stupidly wide?) band to make it a bit more flattering.
Having got two tops, three pairs of leggings and a dress made in two days with the help of my new friend the overlocker, I was inspired to keep going.
I bought this fabric from Like Sew Amazing last year, and as soon as it arrived I realised my mistake. It's not the fabric's fault - it's very nice. But I'd bought it to make a cropped sweater, and over the years I've realised I just need to stop doing that. I've made so many, and I wear exactly two of them. They're both short-sleeved and black, one plain and one large-scale floral. There are a couple of others I used to wear a lot before the fabric gave out/I realised were slightly too see-through for comfort, but so many of the "oh, I have a metre of fabric, I'll make a cropped sweater" versions just never see the light of day. For me, this style of top is an assistant, not a statement, and there's no point in making eye-catching ones because I'm never going to base an outfit around it. I almost cut into this anyway just to get it out of the stash, but managed to exercise enough wisdom to hold off.
For this version I took approximately 1cm out of the upper front piece at the fold line, and after basting and trying it on I also took 1cm off the long edge. I also added a small FBA to the lower front piece, and these two adjustments combined gave me a much better fit. For the neckline I scooped it out from the get-go and did my own thing with the neck binding.
What I did not do, in a very surprising move for me, was crop it. I fully assumed I was going to. But I pinned it up to try it on and get the right length and didn't like it at all. The proportion looked really strange. So I hemmed it as it was. I do not wear longer tops under any non-gym circumstances (I have one that I really like but it doesn't go with much), so this is a bit of an experiment to see if it will actually get worn. If not, I'll bring it back to the machine and rethink.
I'm also wearing some of the Jalie Clara leggings from my winter plan here. I made two pairs of full-length leggings and two pairs of shorts, which was enough work that I really wanted to give them their own post, but I just cannot write anything worth reading about several pairs of black leggings from a pattern I've already reviewed. So they're here, I've finished them, I've worn them to weightlifting classes and they've done me very well. The fabric is Italian matt lycra from Fabworks, which was recommended to me by a commenter, and it's really great. Nice black, exactly the right amount of stretch, and good recovery. Win!
Up next: depending on what I get photographed, it'll either be the Gemma sweatshirts, Patrick's fancy shirt, or my poppy print batwing dress test. I've been struggling to take photos lately because body image stuff, but I'm hoping to get round that by using the camera more in general. There's almost certainly a self-quarantine photography challenge that already exists, and I'm going to try and do that in the hopes of forcing myself to be a bit more creative. I promise not to get too abstract with my project photos!
McCalls 8003 top
Fabric: Grey viscose jersey from Rolls and Rems // Stripy sweater knit from Like Sew Amazing
Cost: £7.50 // £15
Pattern details: Jersey top or bodysuit with keyhole detail, length and neckline options
Size: 14 at shoulders, grading to 20 at hips
Alterations: (for second version) 1/2 inch FBA, 1/2 inch taken out of upper front piece, neckline scooped, neckband redrafted
Would make again/would recommend: Yes/Yes with caveat to baste fit first
That second version looks fantastic on you, and I cannot wait to see the batwing dress - I loove a good batwing! Thanks for posting; you really are doing a public service in these days of generalized home-aloness...
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was wondering whether it would be worth upping my posting rate for the next few weeks while everyone is stuck at home and trying to avoid falling into a scaremongering news hole. I'll see how fast I can get pictures taken!
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