I’m singing with Coro Allegro this weekend. Concert dress is black: It can be a long dress with long sleeves. It can also be a long skirt or pants, and long-sleeved top. I have a pair of nice Alberto Makali pants I bought two years ago. So I decided to go with the top. But I don’t own a long-sleeved black top. So I decided to make one. I had this pattern in my stash, and I decided to give it a whirl.
This is the top from the Vogue Wardrobe pattern. From the pattern envelope: “Loose-fitting, unlined jacket has shaped front hems and long sleeves which may be worn open, or lower edges of front can be tied at waist or draped over shoulder. Purchased pin or belt. Fitted top or below mid-knee dress has raised back neckline, back zipper and long sleeves. Tapered pants have self-lined yoke, back zipper and side slits at ankles.” I made view B.
Sizing: This pattern comes in 6-24. I made a 14.
Fabric Used: Rayon matte jersey.
Any Changes to the Pattern? A few, mostly minimal. I did a FBA, which involved slightly more work because the pattern pieces are separate for the left and right fronts. I also left out the zipper, thanks to a comment from Pam on my Works In Progress post. She had found that the zipper is unnecessary, and in her case, just didn’t look good. I decided to try it without a zipper. If I couldn’t slip the top over my head, I would go back and insert a side zipper. As it turns out, the rayon jersey has enough stretch that I don’t need a zipper. I think in many cases, you can leave the zipper out of this top. If I make the dress, I will put it in the side seam using the hand insertion method that Susan Khalje explained in Threads magazine a couple of years ago.
I have to grouse a bit. What is it with pattern companies telling you to insert sleeves in knit garments using the eased-in method? This pattern tells you to, and the Burda 8028 Sweater did as well. Both of these patterns state explicitly that they are for stretch knits only. You don’t need to set in a sleeve in a stretch knit garment. In 99% of the cases, you can sew it in shirt-style (before the side seams are closed up. This is much easier, I think. And that is what I did with this pattern.
I serged all the seams, which was a little tricky on the tension with the gathered side, but it turned out fine. This knit doesn’t ravel, so I took Sewing Diva MaryBeth’s advice and simply trimmed the hems and left them unfinished. I think it looks fine, and it is rather sleek looking.
Comments on This Pattern: This is a very well drafted pattern. It goes together well, and is very versatile. I have more matte jersey, and I may make this into the dress, since I realized I don’t have a basic black dress that doesn’t look dated.
This took me about 3 hours to cut and sew. It’s a good pattern for an advanced beginner/early intermediate level sewist and above. And I think it turned out really well.
Happy sewing!
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