One Pattern, Many Looks

I entered a sewing contest for the first time ever! Its PatternReview.com's "The One Pattern, Many Looks" contest. This is my entry. I chose a Vogue pattern I've had my eye on for some time now. I first saw it last year when another sewing blogger posted it. Unfortunately, I can't remember who it was. When I then saw it featured on the cover of the January issue of Vogue Pattern magazine, it was final. That was the garment I was going to make for the contest. 

The pattern is Vogue 8854, a Very Easy Vogue casual top with shirt tales and a tall interesting flap collar. The pattern features three looks: one sleeveless option (the Vogue Pattern cover), one long sleeve version with a pocket in front, and one with a hood and longer shirt tale at the back. It's designed to be made in knits but it worked equally well in all the fabrics I selected.  

I chose to make my entry in three different fabrics - fleece, a medium weight knit and a faux dupioni-look woven.  The looks as you can see in the photo, included an outerwear-like fleece top made to the specifications of the pattern but without the ugly front pocket.  I made it a bit larger than the other two with the intention of wearing it over a T-shirt.

The second version was made in a soft, medium weight acrylic knit. I reversed the front flap to flip to the right instead of left, shortened the collar a bit and added exposed zippers (those were fun to do) to the front flap and sleeves for a more rugged, casual look. It's comfortable and looks great with black jeans and boots.

My third version is a bit more dressy and featured the most changes. I shortened the sleeves to bracelet length and added a ruffle. The shirt tales were converted to a straight conventional hem. For the neckline I shortened the collar and added a ruffle and 3 buttons. I'm quite pleased with the way it looks, a bit dressy, but still casual enough to wear anywhere. And, I love the way the neckline turned out, dramatic and feminine.

All three of the tops turned out well. I anticipate making more versions of this pattern, but I will definitely change the collar to lay a bit closer and tighter to my neck. 

Fabric of the Day Knit Shirt

Every day the employees at the fabric store where I teach select a bolt of fabric to display as their "fabric of the day".  Their selections are usually quite lovely and too often I can't resist buying a piece. One such purchase was this lovely medium weight cotton blend knit in a charcoal and off white zebra-ish print. 

I will admit my experience sewing with knits is limited. I don't have a serger machine and until I am convinced knits are for me, I won't spend the money to buy a good one. But, its hard to resist some of the beautiful knit fabrics that are on the market. The few projects I have made have turned out well and given their popularity I am determined to master sewing with knits.

When making any garment for myself, fit is a huge issue. I always have to make numerous adjustments to any pattern to get the fit just right. When sewing with knits this becomes my first priority. I will not put a machine stitch into a knit garment until I get the fit right. The last thing I want to do is to have to remove or undo a seam that has been zigzagged or overcast. Those types of seams are a pain to remove, not to mention you risk puncturing a hole in the knit with the seam ripper. So, I hand baste my knit garments together first and adjust until the fit is right. Once that's done, stitching the knits garments together are indeed a breeze.

This was a fairly easy garment to make once I got the fit right. For this garment I needed a size smaller than what I cut, so I needed to take all the seams in quite a bit. I also repositioned the seam at the bustline so it was below rather than on top of the bustline. I also added 2 very small darts right under the bust to give the garment some form and a slightly tighter shape. Without the darts it looked too much like a maternity top. 

As I said, I don't have a serger, so all of the seams were sewn with a small zigzag stitch. To finish the seam edges, I used a lock cutter that attaches to my machine. It both trims and finishes the seam edges with zigzag stitching. 

The pattern I used is Vogue 8634. The finished top is quite casual, but very comfortable and it looks good with both jeans and casual dress pants. 

Cowl neckline and raglan sleeve detail

Sleeve and hem detail - I used a double needle for a mock cover stitch

Inside seams