FO: Blatant Copycat Wild Flower Top

Are you sitting down? Because I made something else off my Make Nine list! This time it's from last year's list, but still - I said I wanted to work from both and here I am, killin' in, lol. This pattern has been in my stash for a few years now, always with the plan to make it up yet never actually getting made. I decided I'd waited long enough and just went for it. I printed up the pattern and traced it off, then while looking at the instructions I noticed a familiar fabric. In fact it was the exact same fabric I had in my stash. I searched the rest of my stash for possible options, but in the end I settled on blatantly copying the example, lol. I mean how often does that happen that you have the exact same fabric and no concrete plan for how to use it, right? 

This is the Wild Flower Top by Blank Slate patterns that I picked up with the Just Add Jeans pattern bundle years ago. The Parisian Top and this top were my favorites and made me buy the pattern pack. I've long loved the Parisian, so I thought this would be a fun one to try as well :) The fabric I used is a poly rayon blend knit teal and heathered gray stripe knit I bought at Joann's July 4th, 2015 (aren't blogs great for this type of information? lol) I bought it because it was soft and a good price at the time and I liked the colors - no idea what I would make with it. At the time everything was destined to be a Renfrew or a Plantain (let's face it - that still goes on today, ha ha), but it sat and sat so I knew it was meant for this project. I had a little more trouble picking a fabric for the under layer. None of the fabrics in my stash looked right with the stripe, and in the midst of my frustration I realized I would be passing by our newly opened Hobby Lobby the next day, so I decided to check their online store and found a cute gray that looked like it would work. I brought my fabric with me to check and it was almost the same color gray as the same piece on the example I was copying, so I bought a half a yard (using the lovely 40% off coupon they always have) and went on my way. The fabric is a poly spandex knit with little white arrows on it periodically. Cute and trendy but such a small touch that it wasn't in your face. Yay!

In another effort to copy the pattern example, I went rogue and cut the front overlay pieces on the cross grain (gasp!). In a woven fabric this isn't always a big deal, but in a knit it's a different story. The stretch in this fabric runs in the direction of the stripes, but since Melly Sews was able to use her same fabric this way, I just trusted that and made it up. Thankfully it worked out well in the stretch department. 

I made extra sure to cut this so the stripes would be lined up. The only difficult part was figuring out where the bust overlay seam would be and how that needed to line up with the stripes on the back piece so it would look continuous. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close and I'm really pleased with my stripe matching :)

And the back view - here is where I start to not love this top so much. This fabric was not only a bear to work with (a soft, uncooperative, rolling bear), it also happens to be overly clingy to lumps and bumps as well as on the sheer side. Great. It's such a nice color though! I also don't love how deep the neckline is at the back - it's not a bad look in general, but I don't love it on me.

The nice thing about this pattern ins that the bodice piece and the overlay are all connected, so it looks like you're wearing 2 layers but in fact it's all one piece. Here's my really awkward pic where I show that, lol. Yeah. The overlay pieces are pleated at the top and the bottom before they are sewn to the bodice piece, then you stitch everything together as one. Nice and simple.

And as with all projects lately there are somethings I'm not completely happy with. The neckline on this pattern is just turned and stitched. This is the first time I've come across this in a knit pattern, and I have to say I'm not a fan. I understand why it was needed - you have to finish the edges on 2 different fabrics and one is supposed to look like an under layer - but I don't like it in practice. Notice how the neckline is leaning forward so you can see my seam allowance in the above picture? Yeah, it does that all the time. And it was awful to sew in this fabric. Also the pattern only gives 3/8" seam allowances everywhere including the hems. That's the smallest hem I've ever seen, for real. It was nearly impossible to do - I tried several times with the twin needle and it looked horrible every time. I had to roll much more over (at least 5/8") to be able to even do a twin needle hem there, but I still don't like how it looks. I even used my beloved woolly nylon thread in the bobbin, but it still tunnels like the Dickens. Ugh. The neckline also feels loose , which again contributes to it folding outward. The overlay pieces also only called for a 3/8" hem, but that was even more impossible on this fabric. I had to (again) roll over more fabric just to actually stitch a twin needle hem and have it look decent, but that made my neckline more open because I used more fabric in the seam allowance. I understand that 3/8" seam allowances are great for patterns using a serger for knits, but when even the instructions call for a twin needle hem you'd think they would include more hem allowance.

In the end I really don't love how wide open the neckline is - again it's not actually designed that way, but I just flat out wasn't able to sew it with the smaller seam allowances. If I make this again, I will definitely be adding more to my seam allowances on anything that needs hemming.You can see in pretty much all of these photos that I have a weird drag line coming off the center neckline of the gray area and it's caused by the extra tension on the center front from just turning and stitching and hoping for the best. Next time around I will figure out some sort of neck band for sure. Also another little gripe while I'm at it - another indie pattern with no notches. Is this a common thing? I've never encountered it before in any patterns I've used, but now I've had two back to back. I notched my center front and back as always, but other notches would've been helpful to ensure even stretching.

Some details :) You can see my nice even gray stripe under the overlay pieces :) Also the pleats at the shoulder (as well as the nasty looking twin needle stitching along the back neckline - ugh).

So here we are with another wearable first go at a pattern that will get worn occasionally but could use some tweaks. I'm staying away from poly rayon knits for certain (ugh, so lumpy), and I'll have to constantly futz with my neckline to make sure I'm not exposing my bra when I move, which is just annoying to think about. Overall it's a cute design that I still like, but it will need some adjustments the next time I make it. It has potential though! Yay for potential :)

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards teal and gray striped poly rayon knit, $7.20 , 1/2 yard of gray chevron poly knit - $2.56
Pattern: Wild Flower Top by Blank Slate Patterns
Notions: gray thread - $0.25, gray woolly nylon thread - $0.25
Time: 5 hours
Total Cost: $10.26