Blouse by Simplicity 2566

This is a version of the Khaliah Ali top in the Simplicity 2566 pattern.  By version I mean that my finished result is nuthin' and I mean nuthin' like the original pattern.  I had planned to make the top just like the pattern suggests but I made a serious error in sewing on the collar...like I sewed the collar onto the wrong side of the top and just couldn't fathom ripping it apart to correct the mistake.  Especially since I had already cut the slit to make the v-neckline.  So after angrily casting the top aside and saying a few choice cuss words, I decided the top was salvageable.


Taking a deep breathe I picked the top up and realized that I could just stitch the facing down to the front of the top and hide the facing edges under the collar since it's quite wide.  I followed the pattern instructions on finishing the collar by hand stitching it down... 

...although the hand stitching is on the right side of the garment but again the collar hides that.

My version is sleeveless because of opportunity.  See I had a limited amount of time to have pictures taken by my daughter...it was Super Bowl Sunday after all...and due to the challenge of getting the collar on the top, I hadn't finished it by the time she arrived.  So I just tucked it under the cardigan but after we took the pictures I realized that I really liked it like way.  Here's how it looks on Lulu now:

A few other things:
1.  The darts needed to be raised like big time on the top.  I guess I'm just not busty enough but those darts were so low it was ridiculous.  I moved them up two inches but will adjust the pattern so that I get my bust points correct.  Right now they are a little too close together.


2.  I started with a 22W for the shoulders and bust area and a size 28W for the abdomen and hip area.  The good thing about multi-size patterns is the ability to merge sizes.


3.  Even with this adjustment, the top is close-fitting.  And I really don't like close-fitting but thankfully this shirting has some lycra in it which helps.  However, for the next version, I will add a back seam for some additional fitting since the original is cut on the fold.


4.  The armholes are pressed under 1/2" and stitched down.


This is a wearable muslin.  My collar needs work and the facing is not equal on both sides...but it will work for my first version.  I have loads of shirting purchased from Fabric Mart last summer and I'm going to pull some of those out and make a couple more versions with and without sleeves.  I don't really like button front shirts and I think this one will work perfectly for my figure and my wardrobe needs.


...and yes I will make up the tie that came in the pattern to accompany the top especially since it's already cut out...


...as always, more later!

Saturday Update

So it's Saturday afternoon here in NJ and it's stopped snowing...I'm safely ensconced in the sewing cave with the heater going and the TV playing...more Law & Order of course! *smile*

I'm going to spend the weekend working on the rest of the pieces of the Lavender and Gray Skies wardrobe.  I'm adding the facings to the jacket and hemming the sleeves then I'm moving onto the dress.  If I have time left this weekend, I will work on the cardigan also.  If I get all of this done, it will leave only the two tops to be completed.


As a reminder the two tops are, Simplicity 2566 ~ in the white cotton stretch fabric and I've added Butterick 3124 an out of print sleeveless cowl neck top from the cardigan fabric.

I've read the PR reviews for it and Lara's review on her blog, Thornberry.  One of the first things I plan on doing is lengthening the top.  Even from the photos on the pattern envelope the top is too short.  If I have enough fabric I may make it dress length but that's something that I will determine when I'm working on the garment.  I do like the fact that the top has side bust darts, which are my darts of choice.


Since I no longer have a photographer and haven't figured out how to take pics of myself yet...trying to decide if I want an entirely new camera...it will be a minute before I have pictures of me in the completed garments.  But I am happily sewing away in my sewing cave working on finishing up this wardrobe.


...as always, more later!