Beausoleil Top by ITS Patterns

I have finally made a cold shoulder top! I've been on the lookout for just the right pattern, and when Kennis asked for testers for her new cold shoulder design, I jumped right in. 

There just aren't that many options for cold shoulder tops in a woven that have appealed to me. I was looking for just the right amount of shoulder and a nice clean finish, and Kennis's design really captures this. The Beausoleil has views for a top or a dress, and obviously, I chose to make the top. 

I've tested for ITS before, and Kennis's patterns are usually right on point for me. This was no exception! I don't fit cleanly in the size range in this top, so I did a size 12 A cup bust, a 14 waist, and a 16 hip, but grading between the sizes was fairly straightforward. 

The only problem I had with fitting is in the back, where I did a sway back adjustment to allow the top to lay nicely along my spine. As is my habit with any new pattern for a woven, I made a muslin, and I basically pinched and basted the back vertical seam until it laid naturally on my body, then transferred the new curve to my pattern piece. Apparently my back has quite a curve, since this is one of the most common adjustments that I make. 

Once I had the swayback under control, I could really enjoy the way the fit of the top skims over the body. It is really a nice balance between shaped and flowing. I might make the dress view of the pattern just to take advantage of the beautiful shape!

For my final version I decided to use a lovely silk from my 2014 trip to Rome. This silk has a matte finish and a bit of weight to the drape. 

The pattern has a lapped back zip. I *might* have made one of these a loooong time ago! I found Kennis's instructions to be quite reasonable, and her photo tutorial was very helpful in clarifying the process. The facings worked out beautifully! I did encounter the dreaded bubble at the bottom of the zip... so I ended up ripping the bottom seam and re-sewing it in by hand. But after this minor snafu it lays quite nicely. 

However, the secret truth is.... I don't need the zip to get in and out of the top, which was true for many of the testers! If you choose to go the route of omitting the zip, it would be wise to test this out with your muslin (or some strategic basting) before making a dreadful mistake! Or, perhaps you want the challenge of the lapped zip... it does offer a nice vintage touch. Not to mention the convenience of slipping your top/dress over your perfectly coiffed hair...! 

One of the things I truly love about this pattern is the all-in-one facing. It gives the top a lovely polished look without the inconvenience of separate facings flipping out all over the place! However, (note to self!) I think I would trim just a *hare* off of the facing piece next time to help it stay invisible on the inside. 

Perhaps you can make out from these pictures that the sleeves are finished with a 1-inch cuff. This makes for an easy, clean finish. Another nice touch.

Can you tell, I really love this top! As usual, I'm planning out all of the wonderful possibilities of future versions. I think I need one in black crepe silk, and I also suspect this pattern would be perfect for a stable knit like a ponte. I'm also curious how the top would look if I widened the cut-out just a bit more. I might also try replacing the cuff with a narrower bias band for a slightly more delicate look. It would also be lovely in a simple linen or cotton as a casual summer top. 

Vienna Tank by Itch to Stitch

I have a new summer top... the Vienna Tank by Itch to Stitch!

I was a pattern tester for this top, so I've gotten to wear mine a couple of times already, even though the pattern was just released today! I love how it is an elegant design, but also super comfy since it is a relaxed fit and just skims the body.

It is an unusual design in that the yoke is made with a woven fabric, and the body of the top is made with a knit. This means that fitting is a breeze... with the knit on the body of the tank (and over the bust) you don't have to be too exact about fitting.

I used a silk charmeuse on the yoke and a rayon jersey for the body of the tank. I pre-washed the silk, and it dulled the shine on the charmeuse to a beautiful matte that I just love.

The biggest problem that people encountered was the depth of the armhole, so you might want to pay attention to this area on the pattern, and possibly tissue fit or muslin before you cut your fabric. Kennis deepened the armhole slightly since pattern testing, mostly in the smaller sizes... in my size she lowered it about .3 inches... just so you know, if you like where the armhole is hitting in these photos. I found the armhole to be just right in the testing version.

I made no other fitting changes when sewing my top. I did leave a bit of extra length, just in case, but ended up just incorporating it into the hem and using the original length specified by the pattern.

My favorite thing about the pattern is how clever the construction is. All of the seams are enclosed in the double layer of the yoke, and the front seam is a clever design that takes very little effort. Encasing the top edges of the top with bias is probably the fussiest part of the design, but it isn't yards and yards of bias tape like some tops require.

Since my knit was pretty lightweight and not so well behaved, I was careful to stabilize areas that I knew would be a problem. For both the armholes and the front "facing," I interfaced with lightweight knit interfacing to give the fabric a bit of body and assure that my stitching would be even. (I tried sewing the front facing without any stabilization, and it was a disaster-- I had to pick it all out and try again!). Other testers used spray starch, spray stabilizers, or wash away wonder tape.

I'm already planning my next versions! First to go is the tie... cute, but I think it would look great just cleanly finished at the slit. And I really want to try a woven version. I'd like more volume if I do this, so I'll slash and spread both the front and back pieces to add width. If I do this it will be very much like this Simplicity top I've made in the past, but hopefully a lot less fussy.

As Kennis says on her introduction of the top... it is a great top for using up small pieces, or in my case, all of those remnants I've snatched up from Emmaonesock in the past! The yoke takes only 1/4 yard, and the body of the top 3/4 yard.

Oh, and the tank is on sale now for 20% off if you want the pattern. Kennis is also having another sale of 15% off of any two or more patterns with code summerfun.

Lisbon Cardigan in a Drapey Jersey with Sequin Print Trim

To be truthful, this was my first Lisbon cardigan!

I was a pattern tester for this pattern, and I hadn't sewed an Itch to Stitch pattern before, so I decided to make up my first version in a black jersey that I had lots of so that I would not be sad to lose a precious fabric if changes had to be made.

I needn't have worried... the fit was spot on. After trying it on and realizing it was going to be a keeper, I decided I would jazz it up with a bit of sequin print trim. I've been hoarding this lovely sequin print jersey, but I figured I could spare just a bit for this purpose. From a distance, I think it is quite effective.

This is the 3/4 length sleeve which is an option on the pattern, and I believe shortening the 3/4 sleeve is the one change that Kennis made before releasing the pattern. Just so you know. It makes sense, since these sleeves on my version are sort of awkwardly in between a 3/4 and full length sleeve. It doesn't really bother me though.

In order to take best advantage of the drapey effect, I decided not to put buttons down the entire front. Quite honestly, I was also worried that the buttons would just look sort of saggy and sad since the front bands are quite soft, even with interfacing. Besides, I rarely ever button the front of my cardigans, and it was especially unlikely with such a think knit.

But I did want some sort of closure on the neckline. I thought a button would spoil the trompe l'oeil that I had created with the sequins, so I salvaged some sew-on snaps from an old sweater.

I pretty much followed the directions to the letter-- and they are very well written! I did make one change though-- when I sewed the front bands to the sweater, I sewed them on like you would sew a waistband onto a pair of pants, so that all of the seams are enclosed. I pretty much do this on all of my sewn cardigans, since I can't stand seams showing when the wind flips my sweater open. You basically sew the front side of the front band to the cardigan right sides together. To sew the back of the front band, you fold the seam allowance in and secure it with a lot of pressing and pins and/or wash away tape, then top stitch it from the right side, catching the fold.

I think I'll get a lot of wear out of this cardigan. Black with gray-toned trim goes with just about everything! Also, the sequin print trim makes it a little more dressy... but the fact that it is actually jersey means I can also wear it during the day.

Lisbon Cardigan by Itch to Stitch: A Pattern Review

This beauty is the Lisbon Cardigan by Itch to Stitch. Isn't she gorgeous?

When Kennis asked for pattern testers, I jumped on this. What a beautiful, classic design... I've actually searched for something similar, and been disappointed with what I've found. If you are a prolific knitter, your wardrobe is probably full of nice cardigans, but as slow and plodding knitter, this is a definite gap for me.

This version is made with doubleknit and ponte fabrics. The black is a wool doubleknit from Mood that has been in my stash for years. I fell in love with it and bought a ridiculous quantity. This was probably a mistake in how much space it takes up in my limited fabric storage area... but for something like this, it is the perfect fabric-- warm, durable, and with just a bit of stretch- 25 percent or so. 

The magenta striped fabric is a rayon ponte from Marcy Tilton (who has the most amazing collection of stripes). It is a 2 way stretch, which was a bit worrisome for this pattern since I had my heart set on vertical striping and the stretch goes with the stripes. So I got away with making the cuffs and bottom bands with very little stretch... there is enough ease that this worked for me. 

The neckline, however, was a bit of a disaster without stretch-- it is basically a rectangle and the shaping of the neckline comes from stretching it to fit the body of the sweater. After a total fail, I re-cut the neckline horizontally, with the stretch. In retrospect, I really like it this way.

The fit is perfect for me. I made a size 10 with no adjustments at all. I'm a 38 bust, 35 waist, and 41 hip, and 5'4".  Technically my waist would be a size 12, but the fit is boxy so I just ignored that fact. I have slightly larger than average biceps and sometimes feel the need to do a large biceps adjustment, but I didn't need to on this pattern (some testers narrowed the sleeves a bit). The sleeves might be just a tad long for me, but it doesn't bother me because the cuffs keep them in place. 

I know this sounds crazy, looking at this sweater now... but it totally didn't occur to me that I needed to pattern-match the two front bands (where the buttons and the buttonholes are). Thank goodness I ended up pattern-matching by accident, just by virtue of the fact that I was using the stripes as a cutting guide when I cut the pieces. I sort of thought they would totally overlap and you wouldn't see the bottom band, but looking at it now, it makes sense that it would peek out. It would have looked dorky if I hadn't managed to match it!

This is my first Itch to Stitch pattern, and I was impressed with Kennis's professional drafting and instructions. The seam allowances aren't shaped, so you do need to make sure you are matching the stitching lines, but this is pretty standard sewing technique. Her instructions are very well thought out and concise, there are no extra steps or fussiness, she just tells you what you need to do in a logical order. You don't need a serger, but she indicates where you can use one, and the seam allowances are 1/4 inch so there isn't a lot of wasted fabric.

The PDF is layered so that you can print out just the version you need, instead of all of the sizes, and she includes instructions on how to print out just the layers you need. FYI, if you are PDF challenged and ignore the instructions and print off all of the layers at once, that works too. As me how I know ;). The one piece I had to reprint with unnecessary layers turned off was the front band showing the buttonhole placement, but this was just 3 pages. 

I did made one significant change in construction. When sewing the front bands, she has you sew the band on and tack the seam allowances. This is a very reasonable, reliable way to sew the front bands on... but I like an enclosed front band on my cardigans since I tend to wear them unbuttoned. So I sewed the front band on like you would sew a waistband. I just finished a pair of Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Files, and Heather explains the technique very well in her sewalong. I'll do a tutorial for this when I sew my next Lisbon, but I basically treated the front band of the cardigan like the waistband of a pair of pants, using the topstitching to catch the seam allowance of the underside of the band. Since you are basically sewing blind, it helps to use wonder tape (double sided water soluable tape!). If you don't have wonder tape, use lots of pins. It is a little trickier to sew the front bands in this manner, but I love the result... if the wind catches my cardigan and flips it open, the inside is almost as beautiful as the outside.

Speaking of beautiful insides, Kennis includes instructions for a "hong kong" seam finish for knits. I think this is a super cool idea! I just serged this cardigan, but if I'm working with something super special in the future, it would be lovely to have a beautiful color or print enclosing the seams. You could also just use this technique on super obvious seams, such as the front band seam, if you aren't doing the "waistband" method of enclosing the seams. 

One other detail I added was underlining for the arms. I know from experience that I find this wool doubleknit a bit scratchy to have in direct contact with my skin, and I wanted to be able to wear this cardigan with sleeveless tops. So I underlined the sleeves with some Venezia knit lining from Emmaonesock. I love this stuff... super light, slightly slippery, and stretchy. I used the sleeve pattern pieces to cut out the lining, and basted the lining to the sleeve, wrong sides together. I then treated the sleeve and lining as a single piece for the rest of the construction of the cardigan. 

Let's just talk for one minute about the elephant in the room: buttonholes! For the full length version of this cardigan there are SEVEN of them. Ack. I was hoping for miracles when I bought my Janome 8077 last year, but I have to say, the automatic buttonhole feature is miles better than my old machine (which was scoring a ZERO, so that isn't saying much) but still rather finicky. If the buttonhole situation is PERFECT-- totally flat, even thickness of fabric, not too thick, not too thin, normal Gutterman thread (mara 100), perfectly stabilized (preferrably, woven), no seams in the vicinity-- the buttonhole function will still sometimes stop with inscrutable codes for no reason at all. 

After about 15 minutes or so of failures on test fabric, my machine and I came to a truce on these buttonholes. No fancy buttonhole thread-- just regular old Gutterman thread with the stretch needle that I had used for construction. No funny stuff, like going around twice. Tissue paper under the fabric. Then I pulled off 7 buttonholes in a row, and breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

One little hint... if you are using an automatic buttonholer where you put a button in the slot to get the right size buttonhole, you might want to trick it into making slightly smaller buttonholes for your knit fabric. I took out the button and clamped the little lever down another 1/8 inch.

The buttons are vintage buttons from my best friend's grandmother's button collection. They are basic black buttons, and I'm not sure what they are made of, but they have a bit more weight and a slightly cool touch. They feel nice to the touch. I machine sewed them, which went pretty smoothly on my Janome-- no broken needles and faster than hand sewing. 

Oh, and one more detail I added: topstitching. I was having trouble getting things to lie flat... these knits just didn't hold a press in a very satisfying way. So I added two lines of topstitching, at the top and bottom of the striped portion of the waistband, which served to add a bit of definition and hold the seam allowances in place. I also topstitched the neckline, on the black doubleknit just under the neckband, once again to hold the seam allowances in place and help everything lie nice and flat. 

This was actually my second Lisbon, and I sewed it up in one evening, minus the buttonholes and buttons. Kennis is totally right that you are going to want to make TONS of these, it is such a versatile wardrobe piece, and very fun in all sorts of fabrics. I'll blog my other Lisbon soon-- I used a drapey knit, and it has a totally different feel. I can't wait to sew another one!

Kennis is having a new release sale right now, so head over to her shop if you want to make your own Lisbon Cardigan. No code required to get 20% off.