Category: knot knit top

Grey knots – B5283

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I’ve made this pattern before in View C but the assymetrical knot just didn’t work for me in real life. This is view B. I’ve been keeping an eye on the knit top challenge that RuthieK has put out there and this is my small attempt to try another knit style.

This fabric has two-way stretch and the main  challenge was the knot. The fit is good. I didn’t make any changes because I wasn’t sure how the knot would work out.

 
The photo above was for my reference so I could keep track of how where the knot is placed. I sewed the knot onto the front bodice centre after sewing the left and right curves under the bust. I had to wearing it to see where the knot folds should go and then I machine stitched this piece together. The back wasn’t adjusted for sway back because I was testing the fit of this view.

In knots – Butterick 5283

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This pattern is doing my head in.

I made this top last week with spotted fabric and sleeveless. This time I’ve used a comfortable knit that has one way stretch and good memory. I’ve also only cut out one front piece, so this is not self faced. That saved me a bit of fabric but also made the top hang nicely without making me feel chunky.

I traced off the original outline under the chest and then dropped it by 3inches. The pencil on the pattern shows you how far I’ve moved the piece down.

The front now is looks very gathered because of the knot so I can live with it. As the sleeveless version hangs over the shoulders, I had to take 4cm off the shoulder seams to bring the sleeves back to my shoulders instead of down my arms. Did you notice that the twist is on the same side as the pattern drawing?

I took out the centre back fold so the back fits better. There’s still some work to do here as my right hips is higher than my left hip. This pattern could be another top that gets lengthened into a dress soon.

PS. The skirt is one that I made 4 years ago and I work it to work last week. It still fits, but it didn’t look like me so I’ve added a trim to make it fit into my current wardrobe look.

The beginnings of a set – Kwik Sew 3378

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This was a quick top to make at our sewing weekend, with one hitch. I cut out the small size and not the medium size. The view above shows the extra piece I added to the side seams.


When I wore it as a small, my tummy rolls where there for all to stare at. OMG. What was I thinking.

The additional side pieces can’t easily be seen and the original suggestion to add the extra as ruching made me feel more self conscious about my rolls, so the top sits flat on my body. Phew. This is another piece that I bought when we were in Melbourne fabric shopping. The rest of the fabric will be made into a cardie.

Animal instinct – giraffe

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Animal prints are not my scene, especially tiger/leopard prints. The humble giraffe is much slower and definitely my kind of animal.

This fabric was on the bargain table and it suits my sewing buddy, but I loved it, so we both have this print in our stash/wardrobe.

Birds of a feather, flock together…

Sewing hints
Seams great on the shoulder seam.
Twin needle hemming

winter greys – kwik sew 3378 and 2683

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I had some time on the weekend to finally make these tops for my winter wardrobe. Many of my tops have a v-neckline and they’re flattering but they let me down when it’s cold and I have the sore throat that signals an oncoming head cold.


These fabrics are all soft knit that have 10% wool and 5% spandex and they are from one of my favourite places – Pitt Trading. I have a habit of doing reinforcing stitching on the sleeve head to strengthen the sleeve/neckline shape.

These fabrics were not bought to mature like good red wine. They’re the chardonnay/verdehlo types that needs to be made now – so I have made them up.

This top is really comfortable to wear and I really enjoyed wearing it on Saturday. They are now part of my layer basics.
Sewing hints
There wasn’t a full length piece to make the sleeve, so there’s a seam near the elbow.
I’ve used seams great on the shoulder seam for reinforcement.
Double needle was used on the necklines and the hemlines, when the thread didn’t break. Otherwise, I’ve zigzagged the hemlines.
No seam finish was used.

Fabric stash catch up items

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I’ve finally had a chance to go back to the garments I made during the fabric stash competition. The patterns I’ve used were ones that I’ve made before so this was the best way to make the fabric into clothing during the eight week period.

I adjusted this twist top by raising the neckline by 3 cm. It now sits better on my chest so I feel more comfortable wearing it. And I feel less embarrassed when I reach forward…


I enjoy this a-line dress and the fabric is a piece I bought at the first Akira fabric sale, a long time ago. The fabric is made with a crushed look so fitting isn’t a really issue, so it’s reliable to make up, when you have limited time.


This is a favourite and I made it up at a Sewing guild session on sewing with knit fabrics. The class was on during the fabric stash competition so while a learn a bit on the day, I was able to make this up within two hours, give or take a few minutes as I unpicked the gold trim because it had very little elastic in it 😦