TSW Odette Zebra Top

This is my second version of The Sewing Workshop Odette top.  I am not entirely sure that second time's a charm with this pattern from a fit perspective or that I really want to pursue perfection with a third garment. So another could do better version of the Odette top. Certainly good enough for a weekend wear knit top and in a fun print.

The finished garment

Love the zebras and the colour. Even like the combination of zebras and stripe from the front and back.

The fabric

The zebra fabric is an Avalana jersey 95% cotton and 5% elastane by Stof Fabrics.  The stripe fabric is also an Avalana but with 94% cotton and 6% elastane. This fabric was purchased from All Things Patchwork on our Easter trip away at the same time as the spectacle fabric for the Two Ronnies top.

I seem to be choosing to sew the newer shinier fabric rather than the old stuff.  However the new is arriving faster than my sewing. So either I need to build a new house for the fabric stash or recognise that the world will not run out of fabric any time soon and buying when you need it is not taking a huge risk. In my defence I do buy the fabric with a project in mind it just doesn't eventuate before the next piece of fabric arrives. Plus if I order it from overseas I need fabric in stock for a few projects otherwise I wouldn't be able to sew whilst waiting for my order to arrive!!!

The pattern

The Sewing Workshop Odette top (the line drawing and top in yellow).  I was never that taken with the other pattern - Ivy in red on the right.  However I think I might give it a try as the set-in sleeve will give a better fitting result. It may also give more of a swingy look top which I seem quite attracted too at the moment. Or maybe I copy the style lines of the Odette top onto my TNT set-in sleeve knit top (Silhouette Patterns Sweater Set #195) - a seemingly daft idea worth considering.

The pattern alterations

Numerous pattern alterations were made in fact I wrote a separate post so that I could illustrate the changes with photos. I will update my pattern alteration post to add the zebra top photos so that you can see the before and after tops side by side.

I do think that this version fits better than my original but I am still not completely satisfied. Areas of dissatisfaction are:

• Bit of gapping at the armhole albeit smaller than in the original which means enlarging the bust dart helped. But now the diagonal drag lines from under bust to hip are more noticeable.
• Generally looks a bit tight around the hips.
• Too much fabric across the back or maybe I need to make a bigger sway back adjustment as there is a noticeable bubble of fabric between shoulder blades and lower back. I don't normally have to make a large sway back adjustment so am wondering if the fix should be something else. Back to needing more room in the hip area maybe.
• The neck is possibly a bit open so I should probably have added back at the top of the front half of the sleeve (and taper out correspondingly at the neck edge) the 1 inch I removed for the bust dart / gapping fix.
• Not a fitting issue but one of poor fabric placement created by using the stripe for the side front and back which creates a large expense of stripe on one side. This results in an unflattering extra wide appearance. I didn't think about the impact of the stripe on how wide it made me look I was just focused on having two different sleeves to create stripes with zebras and vice versa.
• Love the longer length in the back just think it would be good to start it closer to the side seam on the side back piece to have more of a shirt tail look on that left side.

The sewing

Nothing new about the sewing of this top from my original version. Just a quick knit sewn on the overlocker. Really spent far longer thinking about and making the pattern alterations than cutting out and sewing the actual top.

The styling

Not really styled but I did pair it with my black Andrea Moore cropped zip leg pants and United Nude Edge ankle booties. Love the booties but they are a bit higher than I was expecting and I have needed some practice outings in them.