...and in with the new

 

the front

This is only a muslin.  I didn't intend to make this wearable so I used a brown zip that I won't use for anything else and an old fabric in a very odd shade of pink that looks a bit like a messy mix of salmon and tomato in real life.

This is the result of my pattern-drafting, see my earlier blog post Drawn.

I drew up a front and back body using my own measurements, and a clever book on how to do this: René Bergh's 'Make Your Own Patterns'.
 

In my previous post I did say something about the curved hemline I am getting for the back waist.  The pieces for this are drawn a bit longer than the waist (disregarding that the waistline curves up, I just went with the longer measurement), but now I find that the top is not long enough.  The hemline hits my figure at a really odd point so I won't be making this in this length again.

The top was mainly a chance to see how my own measurements work out.  Oddly enough I have to take in the top 5-6 cm of the sideseams, just under the arms, by about a centimetre off front and back, tapering down.  I don't really understand why I keep having to do this, on both my own patterns and bought dressmaking patterns too.  It's as if my upper body is less wide under the bust than the average figure. Unless something else goes into this that I don't know about.

But I really thought this wouldn't happen when I use my very own measurements.  Perhaps the ease given is something I don't need?  Odd.  I might figure this out one day.  Just not yet.

the back

I learned that I like two darts much better than just the one.  And I found marking the darts not quite as horrible to do as I remembered.  I used a Frixion pen to mark them - you erase the lines by applying heat through ironing.  You just have to watch out not to press any area where you still need to see the markings.

I drew the bust dart in to slant up.  Now I wonder what it looks like with a dart from the armhole.  That will be my next project.

I am again really pleased that I was able to finish this.  I will take it along to my next sewing meetup to see if my more experienced friends can give me some tips about the fit.  It seems okay but I think it could be better.

My aim is a pattern that I can use over and over again - I was hoping to get a template out of my template top alterations, but that didn't work out well enough.  This approach is much better - I like the fit of this top lots better.

I just need to add a good 5-10 cms to the length if I want to make another little sleeveless top like this.  This is too short.