Featherty Sews: i love mutton chops

Thursday, January 6, 2011

i love mutton chops - Vogue 1109

I have to start this post by saying that I LOVE THIS TOP. Yes, I freely call it my mutton-chops top, but I love my mutton-chops top!

It started out as Vogue 1109, a Sandra Betzina Today's Fit pattern. Kinda mature looking? Which is polite for saying my mom might like the seaming and colorblocking a whole lot more than me.

But those sleeves! The neckline interest! Those sleeves! It kept rattling around in my brain, begging to be made up.

New Year's weekend was my massive sew-stravaganza, and I made the white muslin of my prototype that weekend. I call it a muslin now because I totally screwed it up and it didn't fit right, but to be honest it was meant to be the final product.

See the big fat seam on the sleeve? That's because I sewed it inside out. Yay!

That's ok, I'm not ashamed to show my wadders. The prototype taught me a few things - the sleeves were way too short, the seam needs to hit below the elbow for the pleats to have their best dramatic effect. And let's see, what else? Oh yeah, be sure to sew both sleeves on the correct direction, that always helps tops look nice. Oh, and the neckline was a little chokey in front, so I lowered that by an inch.

A few days passed and I managed to cut out the second (and final) version, this time in a gray cotton/poly knit I scored at Hancock's in the super bargain section for $2.95 a yard. I can't remember exactly, but I think I used about 2.25 yards for this top? I cut it super long, it doesn't really need to be that long. I fully expect it to retract in the washer and dryer, so there's room for that.

After adding three inches of length to the upper sleeve and lower sleeve bands (both), and adding a little to the bodice length (OK, a lot, bordering on too much but ignore that part), I have what I call the perfect mutton-chops top. Soft, a touch slouchy without being sloppy, with full distinct sleeves you just don't see on every Mossimo t-shirt from Target.