Andrea, dear, It's January 21st. Weather.com says it's currently 30°F ("Feels Like: 22°"). So why did you make a short-sleeve floral knit top today?
Because the fabric arrived in the mail yesterday and it was just too freakin' ADORABLE to wait. Obviously. I wanted to attempt sewing with knits with my serger, so when I spotted 1.5 yards of this jersey on ebay for $7.50 (with free shipping) I snatched it up. I've been digging the orange-and-blue color combination lately, and I liked the scale of these flowers.
The pattern is Simplicity 2594, view E -- the V-neck. It has three pleats in the shoulder seam and gathers in the center back. Are you wondering why in the world I didn't make View D, the baby pink version with the enormous lace sleeves and neck ribbon? Oh, have to save that one for a real special occasion.
This top was fast and easy to whip up. I took the advice of the million reviewers of the pattern and didn't even look at the confusing directions for attaching the back yoke/facing and just made it up. I guess they were trying to get you to encase all seams within the yoke facing, but I didn't bother. I didn't even bother to hem the bottom of the shirt because it doesn't fray and I'll only wear it tucked in. Hemming knits has always been a pretty miserable process for me anyway.
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So I made this unseasonal top today, but most of my sewing effort this past week went into making a muslin for the Colette Negroni men's shirt. When I re-picked up this sewing hobby not too long ago, my boyfriend immediately requested I make him a pair of chino pants. Yeah, welt pockets and a fly zip and belt loops and a perfect slim fit. SORRY HONEY BUT NO. I'm no TaylorTailor.
Anyway, I have obliged somewhat and agreed to make him a shirt. I wanted the test version to be wearable if at all possible, so I picked a nice color in cheap cotton broadcloth and worked hard on the details. I used his chest measurement to determine the sizing, but his chest is narrow while his shoulders much broader. After I finally got a fitting in, I was saddened to realize it's too small -- and unfixable at this point. I'll have to start over and make a Medium. Here's the nearly-finished shirt (though still cuffless, with only three buttons, bad pocket buttonhole placement, side seams not flat-felled, and unhemmed):
OH WELL. Have you tried the Negroni for your honi yet?
