Jalie 2788 twist top

When I was visiting my parents in North Carolina over Christmas, all the girls went shopping in Asheville. For fabric, of course.

I brought home several lovely pieces, and this is the first to make it to the sewing table. Mostly because I've been kvetching over which pattern to use.

I hate it when I decide fabric is "too special" to use. Then it just gets wasted. I was determined this wasn't going to get wasted.

The pattern I finally decided on is Jalie 2788. I've used it once before here, and I love that top. This jersey is so much better quality than the one I used the last time, there was no way this wasn't going to be a big fat win.

This pattern is so pretty and the twist makes it super fun to sew. Even though I've made it once before, I still had to follow the directions for the twist. It makes no sense until you do it, and then it is like magic.

I really love the back of this top. That low scoop is so sexy, without being overt. It's the perfect depth for underwear coverage too. I can wear my regular old bra with this and nothing peeks out. Hey, can you see the center back seam there? Me, either!! That pattern matching was total serendipity. I cut this out with a blithe disregard for pattern placement.

Said disregard did result in a boob rose, but given the position of the rose and the busy-ness of the pattern, I think it still works. It's not going to stop me from wearing this. I love it.

I decided to pair it with my white Jalie jeans, so that the top could be the star. With this crazy rose/animal/stained glass print, I think it would overwhelm pretty much anything else.

This fabric really is divine though. I found it at House of Fabrics in Asheville. It is a viscose jersey, so it is divinely soft and drapey. Viscose jerseys can be thin in my experience, but this one is beefy and skims lightly, instead of clinging.

I'm so thrilled I got this fabric out of my stash and into my wardrobe. It's going to give me much more joy there. What beauties are you holding on to because they're "too good" to sew??

Jalie 2788 twist top

I seriously do not know why it took me so long to make up this pattern.

This top is great! I think the twist had me a little intimidated, but it really was much easier than it looks.

The pattern is Jalie 2788. Y'all have probably noticed that I love Jalie patterns, and this one is no exception. The instructions and diagrams are clear and easy to follow, and I got the geometry of the twist in one try.

Here is a detail shot of the twist. The seam that falls under the bust creates a loop of fabric. You make one side first, leaving a small opening to pass through the other side, then sew that seam shut. It creates two interlocking loops of fabric. Pretty neat trick!

The top also features an optional modesty panel. As a full busted gal, this was NOT an option for me. The top is indecently low without it, but that's the nature of the twist. The panel is actually an underlay that covers the entire bust area. It's sewn into the side seams and front armscye, so it is very secure.

The fabric I used, a printed cotton jersey from Girl Charlee, is fairly thin. This makes the twist part lie nice and flat without bulk, but it is bit transparent. The modesty panel also serves as a bit of insurance against bra show through.

The pattern offers several styles of sleeve. I chose the short, puffed sleeve with bound hem. The sleeve is gathered at the cap as well as the hem, so it's very dainty, but in my thin knit, not at all voluminous or overwhelming. I think it works with the delicate print and soft colors of this fabric.

The other stand out feature of this top is the back neckline. It scoops low on the back, but not so low as to require special underwear. I love the subtle sexiness. The pattern includes ties that go across the back neck, but they weren't necessary to keep the shoulders up, so I omitted them. I like the clean line the low neckline gives back here.

For fit, I did my usual Jalie cheater FBA. It's a little tricky on this top, since the front pattern piece is split and looks very odd, but once you find the armscye, the method is the same. Don't forget to add to the modesty panel as well. I also curved the center back seam a little, but from the back picture, it looks like I need a bit more shaping. Nice to have a CB seam for that. All in all, I'm pretty thrilled with this top. I also think it'll make a fab dress... Perhaps soon to come.

Jalie 2805

After making my bellbottoms, I kept imagining this striped v-neck tee with puffy sleeves to go with it. Good thing I can sew.

The sleeves are definitely not as puffy as they appeared in my mind...

But I still like it with the bells. The pattern began as Jalie 2805, but with the sleeves of Jalie 2788, the twist top. This is where my vision broke down... I really should have compared the two sleeves, but in typical fashion for me, I just blew ahead, and discovered that the 2805 armhole is bigger than the 2788, so while the sleeves fit, they're a bit flat.

I really like the lapped neckband. It's cute and looks more complicated than it was. This picture shows the fabric a bit more accurately. It is an interlock that came from my Mom's stash. The stripes are yellow, blue and pink. They remind me of sherbet. You can see the corner of the sleeve binding here as well. Jalie cleverly had the binding strip cut on the cross grain, so the stripes go perpendicular to the sleeve. I did not use my binder for this, and I'm really not thrilled with how they came out. Wearable, but not fabulous. Next time I'll use the binder.

Speaking of stripes, they lined up nicely for me! I made the same fit alterations that I did for the scarf collar top, so if you look closely, you can see where the stripes don't quite line up where I eased the front into the back. I think that tiny discontinuity is worth it for a great fit in the bust. Even though it isn't quite my vision, it really is quite wearable and I'm very happy with the pattern overall. I'll definitely be using it again. I love a good v-neck top.

Myra wanted in on the photo shoot. She's getting pretty good at aping my poses. I think those PJs are getting a little small though. Might be time for some new ones...

In other news, I'm getting my white jeans ready to sew and yet again can't seem to make a topstitching decision.

From the top, the threads are white (thanks to montanachic for that suggestion!), grey and cream. I'm using silver rivets and buttons, so I lean toward the grey, but I'm afraid it's too much/too dark. Should I look for a lighter grey, or go with one of these? Or something completely different? What do you think?