Simplicity 1916 - Knit top

Thank you for all the nice comments on my dress refashion in the previous post. I am so happy to change that one-hit wonder into a wearable dress.  Believe me when I say that the finale to this series will not be so wearable!

I do love those cotton sateens, however I am going nuts for knits this summer. Can I tell you how crazy I am for this pattern which is Simplicity 1916. Perfect for vacation wear and maybe this is the right top for my Vogue 1247 skirt.  I have another one planned with short sleeves. 

Fabric is from Joann fabrics, I had enough to make a Jalie scarf-collar top this winter for a friend and then thought it would work for this pattern. I first saw this top on Myra's blog, it looked really great on her so I was intrigued. She made it a couple of times and in her second post included some very helpful tips on adjustments of the front.

Side and back view.

        
Shockingly good pattern matching if I do say so myself, which I kinda tried to do but figured it was not really important.  How come I can't get these results on expensive wool plaid with equally minimal efforts?  Perhaps there is an equation out there which expresses the variables:
Cost of fabric x importance of project = stress factor of person holding the scissors. . .  math problem for another day. In any case, this top is no stress at all, although I did make a few changes.

For the neckline binding the pattern has you stitch it together at the center back and then apply the binding but I found the upper back was way too big on my first version. For this version I stitched the entire top together at the side seams and then stitched the center back seam last which allowed for some tightening of that upper back area. Instructions call for applying the binding and then turning under and stitching so it is concealed. I skipped that second fold, stitched very closely to the seam to hold it in place which served to make it an edge trim plus it raised the neckline about half an inch.











I did make a third version for my friend Alice, in a brown rayon jersey knit she purchased from the bargain bin at Happy Stop Fabrics in Oakland. After a few months she came over with a bundle of these knits saying she decided they were not going to be sewn into anything soon. So I was rather pleased with myself to make her a top for her birthday with fabric she provided!   Note that she is tall and I added about 3 inches to the length.

I could not resist this taking this shot of plumeria on a walk this morning, what a color combo. Happy sewing, Beth.