M6355 one more time and gray pants

I went back to the green double knit to test the fit of the altered M6355. It looked great in the soft gray sweater knit but as Kathryn pointed out on Stitcher’s Guild, the real test would be going back to the same fabric. So I did. And it’s good. Or better anyway. Look:

What I realized as I tried it on in front of the mirror, is that this fabric clings to my bra. It wasn’t apparent with the dress because I wore a slip under it. Now, this is a seamless T-shirt bra made of some smooth material that has never attracted any clinging. But this fabric, I tell you… It wrinkles and clings and shows every little bump. Good thing I don’t have any more of it.

At any rate, I am happy with the alterations and ready to make more tops with this pattern. For this green top, I used the scoop neckline. On future versions, I plan to add a loose turtleneck or cowl collar.

The pants are a total frankenmix of my old TNT (from an old Burda WOF) and Butterick 5941. I wanted the comfortable waist-to-hip fit of the Burda and the narrower legs of the Butterick. I think they turned out reasonably well. The look good in the front and from the side. I see something on the back view that I’m not sure what it is but I’m not planning to make any changes until I’ve made this pattern again in another fabric.

The fabric is a lovely wool/cashmere blend from Banksville Fabrics. I was going to use a simple grosgrain ribbon finish at the waist but when I basted it in and tried on the pants, the waist was just a little too big. So I had three choices: I could take in the side seams to make it just right, I could leave it alone and not worry about it, or I could try some elastic. Generally, I reserve elastic waist for pajamas but here I thought I had a good fit everywhere and just needed a little taken in at the waist. And then I would also want more room as soon as I ate lunch. The elastic would provide both.

I had to rig it because I hadn’t really seen anything like it before. It’s basically a grosgrain ribbon on the inside to form the casing, elastic enclosed in it and sewn to the ends of the ribbon. Then I tried them on and while I liked the effect, I was worried that there might be too much tension on the zipper. So I rigged the button and loop closure. Both are sewn through the ribbon and the elastic, but not the shell fabric so they’re invisible from the outside.

The next night I bought the Taunton e-book Easy Guide to Sewing that shows a really nice invisibly elasticized waistband finish. I’m going to try that next.

See you soon!