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Friday 4 April 2008

Two Jersey Tops

I finished making Butterick 5185 - the side twist/wrap top. I really like the pattern and will definitely be making it again, however I will need to adjust the neckline next time as it is dangerously low! I'll be wearing this version with a camisole underneath, which is fine. It's very quick and easy to sew, especially if you have made a twist top before. I'm not 100% happy with the sleeves at the moment and may take them off and redo them. I'll try wearing it first and see how I feel then. We all know how it is though, generally if you are not happy with a part of a garment it will drive you crazy until you do something about it - I'm just putting off the inevitable. The colour is more teal than the turquoise it appears to be here.


The second top is another version of BWOF 01/2008 - 116, the wrap top. I cut this out a couple of weeks ago in some printed slinky jersey and as I began to sew it today I started to think that it was not a brilliant pattern choice for the fabric. In particular I thought the ties would not work very well in such a thin fabric and would end up looking too narrow and roll up round my back - not a great look. So I decided to get all experimental, eliminate the ties and fix the wrapover fronts into the side seams. I used my dressform to pin the various layers in place;

First I stitched the shoulder seams, finished the neck edge and the lower edge of the front wrap pieces. Then with the garment inside out on my dressform I decided to gather the top wrapped layer and pinned it in place at the side seam.

Next I wrapped the other front, keeping this one flat and pinned at the opposite side seam.

I hand basted the pieces in place at this stage as trying to pin the front panel layer on top required dexterity I do not possess! Here it is stitched up.

In the spirit of experimentation I swapped the sleeves for the flounced sleeves of Butterick 4985 that I made recently. And voila!

I really like this version, the layers that you can see on the front would look interesting with some kind of trim or embellishment or alternatively you could do the layers in different shades of the same colour. This was a really fun project!

Mega modelling session to follow when I get my decent camera back!

12 comments:

  1. Both of your tops look great!!! I am really in a "shirt" mood lately! I have overlooked this patter! I may have to pick it up!

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  2. Cute tops and great job re-inventing the BWOF top.

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  3. okay,,,, wow,, that blue one is beautiful, especially the color, it POPS, the second is cute to but the first is the winner,,, OH MY

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  4. Both tops are just tooo kewl! Can't wait for the mega modeling session!

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  5. Great tops! I particularly like the spotty one - really cool the way they form with the "gathering"

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  6. Oh, I just love your tops! I have to get this pattern now.

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  7. Hi Allison thanks for finding me :-) I love your blog, it's so easy to read and with lots of pictures. I'll be adding you to feed and link - as soon as I can figure it all out.
    HTH,
    Birgitte

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  8. The colour of the twist top is amazing! So summery and fresh!

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  9. Both tops look gorgeous! I congratulate you on your fix for the second top, it turned out perfect! Great job!

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  10. Great tops, I certainly do like both too. The first one I'd like to try one day too, the variation on the twist is lovely.

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  11. Great tops, I like so much the design of the Butterick one and I love what you did with the Burda top. It will be so much easier to wear than the tie-version. Can't wait to see photos of you wearing them.

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  12. oh, I love them both. I don't think I've seen the Butterick wrap. What a great idea to remove the ties and fix the sides that way.

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