When Colette Patterns first released this pattern (You can download it for FREE
here on their site.), I thought it was cute, but between the lack of sleeves and the somewhat boxy shape, I really didn't think it would work for me. But then it started appearing on women of every size, shape and age all over blogland. I decided that I would give it a shot.
I'm so glad I didn't use nice fabric. It's a tent. Since it is designed to go over the head without closures, shaping at the waist is minimal, and it drapes straight down from my bust, which is not my most flattering look.
It isn't altogether horrible from the side. The bust dart does provide some nice shaping in that area, although mine is a little too high at the side seam and a lot too long.
The blue tape indicates the tip of the dart. It actually points in the right direction, but it ends right at the bust point. I prefer a dart at least an inch, but as much as 2 inches away, otherwise it just looks odd.
I actually think it might be cute belted or tucked in, so I'm not giving up on it forever, but I'm going to shelve it for a while and let it cook in my brain a bit before I try again. In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you all the alterations I made.
This is the front pattern piece. I started out with a size 8, which corresponds to my waist and hip, but is 2 inches smaller than I am in the bust. I did a 2 inch FBA using the Y-dart technique (found on page 146 of the
second edition of FFRP) to minimize the width of the bust dart. As you can hopefully see in the picture, you split the upper leg of the alteration in half, so rather than adding all the extra to the armhole area, you add some into the shoulder as well. Since I have rather narrow shoulders in front, this method isn't always ideal for me, but it works when the sleeve is cut on. I also added 4 inches to the length, as I like my tops long and this one barely comes past the high hip as drafted.
From the back it is a little easier to see how I added the sleeve. I just extended the shoulder line far enough to cover my shoulders, then added the 5/8 SA/HA and connected the end of the line with the underarm on the pattern. Easy peasy.
