3.8.12

Minty Frills

I was a bit surprised when I saw Vogue 1306 in their spring line up.  I thought that frills had finished their fashion moment in the sun, but seeing as I hadn't got around to making a frilly top, and I thought that shoulder frills would be flattering, I did buy the pattern.


I normally make up Vogue patterns according to the measurement charts, but for this one, I sewed a S when my measurements put me at an M.

I made it up in a remnant of rayon lycra knit.  I used my coverstitch machine and binding attachments to do the binding.  This did not turn out perfectly, and the binding seems to be gathering in the fabric a little too much.  I'm not sure how to correct this, except for stretching the fabric a little as it feeds.  I have had this problem with rayon lycra knits previously.

The top demonstrated some pretty ugly fit issues under the frills.

I compared the pattern to my t-shirt sloper to work out what was going on. 


Part of the problem was that I did not cut off the seam allowances before binding.  If you look at the back armscye, you can see that it has a straight edge and not a curve.  I think this may have been a lovely shape in a lightweight woven, and given that I went down a size, I am wondering if the pattern was designed for wovens and not moderate stretch knits, as the pattern envelope indicated.  Anyway, I took off the bindings, cut the curve to match my t-shirt sloper and had another go at binding.

You can still see the binding / gathering issue, but the fit is much improved.

Here you can see it paired with a skirt that I made pre-blogging days.  I love the fabric and colours of the skirt. It is a velvety knit.   I'm not sure how old it is, but I remember it to be John Kaldor fabric, and a quick google search has revealed that John Kaldor stopped selling fabric in Australia in 2004.  I think that the skirt is actually a couple of years older than that.



15 comments:

Joy said...

I love your blouse! It looks great on you!

Mary Nanna said...

Cuuute. I keep forgetting that you mid winter must be mid summer because I'm looking at that and thinking - hey, it's not spring yet! Very lively and fun.

Mary said...

Really pretty! I'll leave my techy comments on PR as I have some issues with this pattern too.

Belinda said...

Yes, John Kaldor shut down in September 2004! I was working for them at the time. I remember a lot of fabric from the almost 6 years I was working there, but I don't remember that one.

Meg said...

Your shirt looks great, nice colour too!

prttynpnk said...

Oh that is adorable! Maybe I'll have a go in a woven and see what happens- other than the sound of my own screaming....

Gabrielle said...

Well, it does look to have worked in the end! Thanks for sharing this analysis - I might have to try it as a woven now too!

Marie said...

The top is such a gorgeous colour. I admire your persistence in fixing the puckering issue up.

Evelyne said...

Great colour on you and it's such a lovely design - really suits you.

MushyWear said...

This is a great knit top. I really like how the pattern has the frills over the shoulders and into the bodice. The color looks fantastic, and way to be persistent with fixing the armscye.

Audrey said...

Cute top, love the minty color of the fabric you used. When I see cotton knit recommended for a pattern, as this one did, it cues me into the possibility that the pattern shape will be similar to a boxy T shirt. Because cotton knit has no significant stretch or recovery. I think your knit was a bit more stretchy than the intended fabric.

Robyn said...

I can't remember where I saw it but another blogger made this up in a white woven and it looked lovely. Love the colour you've used - it's very now :)

Anonymous said...

It's actually very pretty. Your version beats the one on the pattern envelope hands down. I wasn't into the envelope version at all but your make actually made me sit up and take notice.

meli88a said...

Very nice teeshirt, we would never know about the slightly wonky fit if you hadn't shown us the underside of the frills!

Zoe said...

I love the frills and the gathering into the back yoke. The front notch is a cute detail too, it looks great on you.

xxx