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!