I'm so glad I finally made these projects though! The top is a vintage pattern, and the skirt is a simple gathered rectangle that I'm fairly sure I will wear ALL THE TIME as it goes with so much I already own!!
I got this pattern at an op shop... I think! I have been given a few vintage patterns here and there but I'm pretty sure I sniffed this one out myself. Oh and making this means I can be part of #VintagePledge 2016!
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Butterick 3834. So cute!! |
Next time I would take in the underarms a bit as well.
Actually this polyester chiffon was a work in progress (a dress) which I decided I hated and so re-cut it into this top. Much better. I never would have worn that dress....I'm not a fan of pale, sheer, floaty skirts, I keep that on my top half normally. Dark, sheer, floaty skirts? That's a different story. Fashion: it's complicated, okay??
I wasn't very attached to this fabric (polyester chiffon) so I considered it a wearable toile. As such I was a bit experimental with the finishes, and I'm not entirely happy with them, as it was partly laziness to blame. I'm going to make a fancy proper version sometime and I feel much better equipped to finish it much more nicely!
At least I wasn't too lazy to french seam it throughout...
The original pattern has facings for the neckline, and also the sleeves/armholes which are finished at the same time with single-piece facing.
I opted to skip the facings because of the sheerness. I used a bias strip narrow facing at the neckline (which could be done better at the V-neck, as I didn't mitre it or anything, just hoped for the best. LAZY).
For the sleeves I decided to hem the sleeves, then sew the raglan-seam as a french seam, and then do a rolled hem on the underarm. To do so, I had to clip into the seam where the french seam ends and the underarm begins; this is less than ideal because
a) I hate clipping (unless it's totally necessary), and this way left some raw edges on the inside of the garment. I put a drop of Fray Stoppa (Fray Check to Americans, I think?) on them but I consider that a sloppy finish.
b) Roll hemming a curve such as an underam is also sloppy to me, it really wants a facing as it is curved. Hemming tight-ish curves will never give a great result.
Anyway, I think I'll do a bias facing on them next time (it works in my head), I just have to be not-lazy and figure out how to mitre it, I think. This is all because of that interesting square-ish juncture betweeen the raglan sleeve and the underarm.
The original pattern allows for a centre-back zip, but I can pull it on so I didn't bother. Next time I'll try to remember to eliminate the redundant CB seam on the back yoke....
Alright, enough construction chatter!! Let's talk about the style.
I REALLY love the gathered raglan cap sleeve dealies. SO CUTE!! However, I am not convinced on the boob gathers at CF; I'm not 100% sure they look intentional, and I hope they don't look like awkward puckers. Perhaps they would be more successful as pleats, but I do like how the gathered bust matches the gathers on the raglan sleeves! Hmmmmmm.
Also, how cute would this look with the additional of a pussy bow? Then again, I think most things look better with bows. Or what about a centre front button placket....?
I wore this with a nude camisole underneath. Oh, and a skirt I also made!
The finish of this was also a new technique to me. This blog post is getting a bit long so I won't go into too much detail as I'm sure it'll be clear as mud anyway, but I would like to post about it in the future. I love sheer skirts but I never knew how to deal with the lining/invisible zip situation. As always, there's more than one way to skin a cat (Don't skin cats though, they're way too cute).
I also tried out sewing my own thread belt loops, however they need tweaking as I made them too loose... The waistband is also too big for my waist due to my constant waist measurement over-compensation.
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You can see the belt slips out of the loops easily at the back due to them being too loose! |
Also, I still need practice to make my belt loops look better too!
I used a method I learned ages ago (when I first started! I think I learned it from a book) where you blanket stitch over thread, but then I saw this tutorial pop up in my feed from Grainline studio and it looks way easier! I will try out their finger-crocheted thread chains next time!
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The inside of the waistband is overlocked rather than folded under. |
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Side invisible zip and belt loops |
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Both hems are just doubled rolled. Nice and easy on the cross grain! |
This is a relatively less-full skirt than my usual, due to not having loads of fabric width; the ratio is about 1.7 times as big as my waist. I prefer more like 2x or higher though.
The outer fabric is a ramie/cotton blend (ramie was new to me, it's similar to linen apparently, as it is a plant fiber). It's very textured. I love it! It's lined with a soft, light cotton, gathered to the same ratio.
Pretty simple in appearance, but I'm sure I will wear it a lot!
All in all, this was an experimental pair of garments and I'm looking forward to more iterations of similar styles!
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