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21.6.14

Fehr Trade VNA Top

The VNA top by Fehr Trade is one of the most fun things that I have sewn up lately.  The design lines are really cool.  With a pattern collection as large as mine, it is not often that I come across a pattern that is totally new, but I had nothing like this one in my collection.  It is a knit top, so can be completed relatively quickly and easily, but I did learn some new techniques along the way, making the actual sewing of it interesting as well.

I was a pattern tester for this project.  I never like to use my "good" fabrics for pattern tests, because it is a testing process after all, which means that the completed projects I show on my blog can be a little on the ugly side, but this pattern is such a great scrap buster, that I got to use some of my favourite scraps.  My first version is made from different scraps of rayon knits.



I found that my first version sat up too high on my neck.  I dug out my t-shirt sloper for comparison (okay, so sensible people would have done this before they made up the first version).  The front compares pretty well, but the back shows that I need to do a significant square shoulder adjustment.



I made a second version for a friend.  I made hers a straight XS, but using the same square shoulder alteration that I would use for myself.  The neck sits much better how, although the armholes still slide to the inside of my shoulder bone..so maybe a need some sort of prominent shoulder bone adjustment...I think I'll just cut the shoulders a littler narrower next time, making it a little more like a tank top.  This version was made out of merino jersey scraps left over from my cardigan.  I narrowed the binding so that I could use it as a piping between seams as well.  I didn't use the instructions second time around.  I had a lot more trouble with the v-binding on this version, and after the event, I realised that I forgot to stabilise them with squares of interfacing....won't forget that again!


 All up, this is a fun pattern that I am sure I will use over and over again.


8 comments:

  1. Love your fabric choices ~ I must grab a copy of this pattern ... J

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  2. It looks fantastic!! Your adjustments worked pretty well! I too, would like to make sports-gear but I´m really bad working with unstable knits (lycra is an unstable knit, right?)

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    1. The knits I use for workout wear usually are quite stable with very little drape....easier to hem than regular knits and not to difficult to handle...so I say, go for it!

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  3. If only I ran I might be able to wear a top like this!

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  4. It looks fantastic - I haven't seen anything like this either and it looks like it would be great with the different fabric or the contrast binding.

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  5. It has a really interesting back. I like the colours you chose.

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  6. I have been up in the air about this pattern but I love your second version particularly!

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  7. What type of coverstitch machine do you have and do you find it easy to use?

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