Pattern vs. Print

Look! A Gnome in the Garden!

When I wore this top for the first time the other day a young lady complimented it. "I like your top. I like the pattern." I replied "Thanks. Its a nice pattern but this was the wrong fabric for it." Typical exchange between sewers, right? But this cashier was not a sewer. In an instant, I could see the quizzical look on her face. What she meant was she liked the print not the pattern. I caught myself before I started giving her the pattern number.

Vogue 8976

The fabric was so terrible to work with that by the time I finished this top I was thoroughly sick of it. But when it was finally warm enough to wear, I had forgiven it. I really kind of like it. I love how the tails flap in the breeze.

This is the second time I've tried this pattern. The first time was the version with sleeves. It was a mess. It was way too big, especially the neck opening. And really long. And I had used a thin knit that wasn't warm enough on its own and it looked ridiculous with a sweater over it. I trashed the top but kept the pattern. It really makes a lot more sense as a sleeveless tunic.

Knowing it was too big, plus I've lost weight and was using this rather spongy knit, I set about doing some serous taking in. First, I moved the center front 1 1/2 inches past the fold of the fabric. I took another inch off the sides. I shorted the front and back 3 inches and took another 4 inches off the hem. I also raised the armhole an inch but my bra still shows under the arms. I've seen a lot more bra than this on a hot day!

I pulled. I tugged. I folded. I had to call in an extra set of hands. This fabric could not be straightened. Luckily, I had a lot of it. Sewing it was pretty straightforward although the fabric was hard to handle. I sewed the shoulder seams then foolishly finished the neckline before checking the armholes. And I ended up with one inch seams on the side. I swear, the more I worked on it the bigger it got. It's got a mile, mile and a half of hemming. This is the first fabric my cover stitch machine has not gotten along with. All I wanted was to just get it over with.

And try again.