The One-Hour, "That's so cute" Top

A one-shoulder top. I've been wanting one for about 14 mos. now. Last summer I bought Simplicity 2364 and was itching to make it. Problem was, I didn't. Then DD#1 comes home from school in May and says she wants a one-shoulder top with a flounce. I showed her S2364 and she didn't seem that impressed. Until last night. I whipped up this one in one-hour, never even reading the directions. It was immensely helpful to me that Simplicity included the 6-14 size range in one envelope for this pattern!

Here are two front views:

DD#1's response: "That's kind of cute." Translation: She likes it. She wants me to make her something like it. But she says it without much emotion because she knows if I see her excited about it, I'll ask her if she would like to sew one up for herself lol. What I would give to have at least one daughter interested in sewing!

Here is a back view. (I need a reminder to make some Jalie capris from my jeans pattern. I loathe back views with RTW bottoms!) :

The fabric...well I couldn't remember! I made another summer top from this fabric a couple of years ago and had to look up my PR review. The fabric was purchased from Metro Textiles in NYC during PR Weekend 2007.

I can't really comment on the directions for this pattern because the top is pretty straightforward, and I didn't read them at all. However, I did look at the pattern guidesheet pics so I'll tell you, actually show you, what I think is really bizarre about this pattern.

First, this is the normal part. You're looking at the basting stitches for gathering the front and back shoulder seams. You stitch the gathered shoulder seams with a stabilized strip of whatever, then the side seams. Okay. Fine and dandy.

Now here is the bizarre part! What the heck is a facing that long doing on a shirt like this!?!?

Yes, that is the facing! And look at the size of that facing!! I think that piece actually goes right to the full bust or at least quite close to it. Do you know what that means? Very likely you will get a tell-tale facing line. Not only that, that's a double layer of fabric that goes at least a third of the way down the shirt. So...three things I'm concerned about. One is facing "creep", Secondly, tell-tale facing line. And lastly, well, it's just so darn hot out now! Why do I even need a facing at all???

Suddenly, I got *that* kind of feeling. The smug feeling I sometimes get when thinking I know better than the pattern designer and instruction writer. Sometimes I end up being humbled at my lame-brained smugness, other times I feel like I showed them! This time, yes! I showed them.

I'm sure there was a reason for the facing, but it's just not necessary for the one-shoulder version in my ITY knit. It has good stretch and recovery. However, let's say my knit didn't have good stretch and recovery. I'd still make it without a facing and would place clear elastic along a portion of the front and back neckline when topstitching if it needed it. Yes, the neckline is on the bias, and it could stretch out a bit. Even if clear elastic wasn't inserted from the get-go, I could still add it later. Therefore, I maintain this top does not need a facing. IMO, it should be optional and noted as so. I just did the turn-under-and-top-stitch method. (Note: cut the armhole SA down to 3/8" before turning under and topstitching. The curve is too acute.)

Let's move on to sizing. Paula from PR mentioned doing a post about size morphing here are my pics explaining just that.

My neck, shoulders and high bust are a 10. From the high bust down I'm a 14. For my figure, morphing between the two is a breeze resulting in a pattern that needs minimal alterations. The problem is, many patterns are multi-sized up to a 12. The next size range starts at 14 on up. This beauty of this pattern is that it has the 6-14 size range. THANK YOU, Simplicity! You made my day when I bought this pattern. Actually, it probably was THE reason I bought it. Here is how I morphed the pattern blending from the size 14 at the side seams and lower armhole to the 10 from the notch up. Shown is the front piece only, but I did the same on the back as well.

Showing the armhole and shoulder area:

Here's the shoulder and angled front:

This morphing between sizing produces a great fit for me with minimal alteration effort. The only alteration I made to this pattern was to move the entire shoulder seam forward a 1/2". You might be thinking, "Well, what alterations would you being doing if you weren't using a multisize pattern?" Here's a list of some that are typical for me depending on the pattern:

1. Narrow shoulder.

2. Forward shoulder.

3. Removing neckline gape

4. FBA

5. Swayback

6. Broad upper back

7. Tweaking the side seams to fit

Among others...

Realistically, morphing a multi-size pattern may not work for everyone, but it works great for me. It's something to try and, depending on your figure, you might be very happy with the results.

Getting back to my assessment of this pattern. I really like it! The only thing I'm going to change on my second version (yes, I'm actually sewing this weekend because it's hot as you know what!) is to remove some width of the shoulder and drop the neckline on the front and back. My daughters concurred with my feelings on that. The area that is shaded in red lines is what is going to be removed from the pattern for my next version.

What's on tap for my next version? A royal blue, cotton knit top. DD#2 will try it on, critique it, then I'll modify the pattern to make a one-shoulder royal blue, cotton knit summer dress for her. Hopefully it will get made this weekend. The top, sans facing, takes about one hour to make. Piece-of-cake sewing! Off to do my review of this pattern at PR. This will be my 100th review! Well, there are actually many more things for me to review, it's just getting enough time to do them :) .

S4074 In Action!

Here's the Simplicity 4074 wrap dress on the proud owner :) ! I really like it, although I don't find it to be the most flattering. Wraps are supposed to be slimming, and I was hoping for that type of silhouette. Perhaps it is the Slinky fabric. It's hard to see the diagonal and vertical lines of the dress so maybe that's it. Also, I had to take in the waist 2" and it could probably use a bit more. We'll see how the dress shapes up with version no. 2 in a velvet knit.



Here's the back, virtually wrinkle free:


IMO, Slinky is a dressy, yet sporty, fabric. Therefore, I did double needle topstitching on the neckline, sleeve and dress hems as shown here:


I also tacked the front to avoid overexposure. The weight of the Slinky is always an issue for me. Facings were also omitted--turn and topstitching was quick and easy.

The only thing I don't really like about the dress? The neckline on the sides of the neck is very close and curves slightly up. The result is a broad shouldered look, and I'm anything BUT broad shouldered. Narrow shouldered to be exact. I can overlook that though, because overall the fit is really nice. The nature of Slinky at work...very forgiving ;) . And lots of alterations/blended sizing to make it work just right.

Please, don't talk about my shoes LOL! Ugly flats for sure. A bit of heel would do a lot for the total look. Gotta get myself some nice, *comfortable* black heels. Where the heck do I find those???

Off to work on a tutorial...

Simplicity 4074

This is a much improved version from my purple wrap top which was a muslin. The purple top was made from a crappy knit, really awful, which couldn't hold a press and was so flimsy. I much prefer "beefy" knits with some texture.

Here's the pattern:


Here's my version:

It's made from a lovely Slinky print, not without the woes from my previous post. Namely a major fabric snag in the fabric that I didn't realize was there when cutting. It really did look like a tiny crease. However, the fabric print kind of hides it so it shouldn't be too noticeable. I lightened up the photo so you can see the print. The fabric is kind of a shimmery grey shade with a navy blue raised design. The print has kind of a velvet feel.

I'll try to do a review soon and model it. The fit is superb on this one, although I don't think Phat Chick (ETA--as in my Phat Chick dress form) does it justice in her overstuffed fiberfill bod. Also, it's amazing what moving the bust fullness will do, isn't it? I thought that was my major fitting issue on the muslin so I adjusted the bust fullness and voila! There's a lovely purple velvet type of knit in my stash from PR Weekend 2006 so a second wrap dress is in the works. The pattern ties were omitted because, well, I just don't like ties.

More later.