In a search for the perfect top pattern to use with a wonderful Liberty of London jersey knit I rediscovered a Katherine Tilton pattern Vogue 8710. Like many of my Tilton sister's patterns it had never been used. I seem to admire the style lines buy the pattern and store it as a collectors item rather than using it. Don't know why because I usually love the finished garments made from their patterns.
Once it was rediscovered I proceeded to make view B four times, only the second top pattern I have sewn since Christmas. Other top patterns have been selected and the fabric cut out but they haven't made it to the sewing machine. I normally loathe the cutting out stage and can't wait to sew. This year however garments have been cut out and no sewing has followed. There are currently about ten to be sewn items sitting on my sewing table.
The finished garment
All four of these tops have been on constant rotation since they were sewn. Even though it is Winter now I am still wearing them with the addition of a woolly layer.
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| V8710 KT Dreams of Summer top |
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| V8710 KT Dreams of Summer top |
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| V8710 KT Little Mustard Stripe top |
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| V8710 KT Fall Blues top (never to be worn again with these trousers) |
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| V8710 KT Busy City Top |
The fabric
The journey started with a wonderful Liberty of London jersey (94% modal and 6% elastane, 160gsm) called Dreams of Summer and sadly sold out. It was pretty expensive so I only bought one metre (137cm wide). My first plan had been to combine it with a plain mustard jersey knit but as luck would have it there was enough fabric for Vogue 8710 in size small.
The second version made from the mustard stripe knit fabric (95% cotton and 5% spandex, 190gsm) was chosen because I wanted to emphasise the little cut out by placing the stripes vertical with the rest of the garment having them horizontal like the top on the pattern envelope. This fabric is extremely wide (175cm) and was bought from Fabric Vision here in Christchurch but is available online from Miss Maude (Torpedo Little Stripe Jersey Knit). There will be more versions of this top as I bought the same fabric in two other colourways duck egg blue and blush pink.
Then followed Fall Blues a brushed ITY knit from Silhouette Patterns. This is a light weight fabric originally intended for Vogue 9243 the Twirling dress. I made the mistake of cutting the fabric for the dress double layered creating a hideous pattern join at both the centre front and back seam. It looked so bad that I only sewed the centre front and back seam before throwing it in the bin. The positive side to this was using the left over fabric for V8710.
Finally I used the off-cuts from another dress Giorgio's Busy City Dress made using Silhouette Patterns 312 Giorgio's Top lengthened to the knee. The remains of the Busy City French digital print viscose knit 130gsm also from Silhouette Patterns was intended to be combined with other left-overs for a different Katherine Tilton pattern B6492. As soon as I saw how much fabric remained it inevitably became V8710. Maybe the scraps could be combined with two or three other fabrics to become B6492. I do want to get better at using up the fabric remnants rather than just storing them. If I continue to sew in themes combining the left over fabrics should be easier.
The pattern
The pattern includes two tops. I was attracted to View B for the little cut out piece and if you make it with short sleeves it fits on less than a metre of 137cm wide fabric. View B is described as a semi-fitted pullover top with top stitching details, forward shoulder, mostly cut on crosswise grain, bound neck edge, long sleeves, and stitched hems.
The pattern card
Back in March 2020 Grainline Studio wrote a getting organised blog post about pattern cards they specifically designed for home sewers. Pattern cards are used in the garment industry to accompany a pattern around the sewing facility giving the people working with it the information they need to correctly cut and sew the garment. For me the value is in having notes about what pattern adjustments I made, the pattern pieces and fabric used, my measurements when the garment was sewn and the pattern size cut.
I downloaded the pattern card and have been trying to remember to fill it out as I alter the pattern and cut out the fabric. Not entirely convinced of the value of having one for each garment sewn from a pattern, when they are sewn in quick succession like these, as opposed to one per pattern or one each time the pattern is altered.
Storing them is a challenge I haven't quite conquered yet, as I don't keep my patterns on pattern hangers and even reduced to A5 size they are too big to be inserted into many pattern envelopes.
The pattern alterations
As this is a Vogue pattern it has ⅝" seam allowances. I chose to use the size small sewn with ⅜" seam allowances which increased the circumference from 35½ to 37½". This provided me with 2" of negative ease (the right amount for me).
The bust point was lowered by adding a 1½" strip above the bust point in the front pattern piece. For the side front piece I cut across to the side seam and created a wedge 1½" larger where it joined the front pattern piece and nothing at the side seam. I made the alteration in this way to increase the depth for a 1½" FBA. For the fourth version (the Busy City top) I increased the FBA by an extra 1" as I was still getting a little fold of fabric at the bust which can be seen most clearly on the Little Mustard Stripe version. It is a bit hard to see in the before and after photos below due to the print in the Busy City top but in real life the difference can be clearly seen (if you sew and are attuned to these things).
The difference in the pattern pieces after the total 2½" FBA change can be seen in the photo below.
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| Pattern piece 8 (at left) is the side front; fitting into the curve on the left of pattern piece 6 Front |
Rather than use the long sleeve intended for view B I altered the armhole to match my preferred sleeve from Silhouette Patterns 195 sweater set and used the short sleeve length.
Writing this blog post highlighted a small faux pas. Reading the pattern envelope and the notes on the pattern card identified I made a forward shoulder adjustment when one was already incorporated into the pattern. This explains why the finished garment sits a bit oddly on the shoulders. However this is preferable to the top always falling backwards strangling me with the neckline as tops without a forward shoulder adjustment do. For the next version of this top I will correct the double forward shoulder by putting my ½" adjustment back on the front pattern piece and removing it from the back.
The sewing
The pattern instructions are good and include some design studio tips. I veered off from the instructions by using the overlocker and not top stitching the seams. Also whilst the neck binding was attached as per the pattern instructions (albeit using the overlocker) I didn't use the neck binding pattern piece cutting a 1½" strip instead. This strip is stretched slightly as it is stitched around the neck to give a nice snug neckline.
The old Singer Featherweight was used for the hemming and stitching the neckband in the ditch.
Outfit of the day
These four tops went with me for a week away by the Okari lagoon near Westport on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. This was meant to be our Easter break but we weren't allowed to leave home then so it was deferred until late May. |
| V8710 KT Fall Blues top: Andrea Moore Boyfriend jeans; Ivy Lee Courtney Yellow Faux Python flats V8710 KT Dreams of Summer top; Andrea Moore True Love orange pant; Birkenstock Arizona Metallic Silver sandals Untouched World Ecopossum Weekend Kowhai jacket; V8710 KT Busy City top; Andrea Moore Boyfriend jeans; Ernest Wyler Keesha Sunflower bootie V8710 KT Little Mustard Stripe top; Andrea Moore Boyfriend jeans; Face & Cie glasses |
On the way home we stopped at the Maruia Falls. This waterfall was created by the 1929 Murchison earthquake which triggered a landslide in the Maruia Valley diverting the course of the Maruia River westwards and forcing it to cut a new channel over an old river bank. Once the river had eroded the gravel, the bank became the Maruia Falls. Immediately after the earthquake, the falls were only about a metre high, but after a year, the drop was 5 metres, by the early 2000s it was 10 metres.
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| Moochi Puffed Coat; V8710 KT Dreams of Summer top; Andrea Moore Cropped Boyfriend jeans; Ernest Wyler Keesha Sunflower bootie |
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| Untouched World Ecopossum Weekend Kowhai jacket; V8710 KT Little Mustard Stripe top; Andrea Moore Boyfriend jeans; Ernest Wyler Keesha Sunflower bootie |
