One out of three. This sucks, really.

I've made a few tops in January, and its really sad - the one I was bitching about, Simplicity 3838 is the one I like the best.

So, Simplicity 3838.



Pattern review here.

Despite me complaining about how pregnant this top makes me look, (and it does, trust me. I took a shot of my profile, but I'm vain enough to never post it here), I still really like this top. Its comfortable, kind of cute, and its easy to wear. Tops like this fit perfectly into my wardrobe - I'm always looking for something just a shade nicer than a t-shirt to wear over jeans.

Dismal failure 1 - Simplicity 4020.

The pictures confirm - this is definitely a wadder.



How many ways do I hate this top? Ah. Let me count.

1. Ok, horizontal stripes at most out-of-shape body part? Ummm - no. (I couldn't help it though, that was the way the fabric stretched.)

2. The fabric is thin enough, you can see the indentation of my belly-button. And everything else, actually. You can see my bra through this. (Ah. Announcing that on the internet. Good idea.)

3. The worst is, apart from the above two points - it looks really dowdy. The kimono portion looks shapeless, its just dressing-gown like, and ugggghhh. Awful. Its not the pattern - I've made this pattern before, and that came out relatively cute. Its either the fabric, or something I did sewing. I'm not sure which one - but its back to the drawing board for this.

I'm not too bummed - I've wasted a buck on fabric(stupid Goodwill find, I must stop doing that) and a couple of hours of my life. It could be worse. I'm definitely going to try this again though, with either a floral (I think those work well) or a solid. Definitely, no stripes.

Slightly less dismal failure - BWOF 09-2007-101.



This was definitely my fault. For sure. I have this bad habit of buying remnants, and then trying to force my pattern to fit. To get this one to fit, I cut the ties a lot smaller, and made the shirt a lot shorter. Too short, as a matter of fact. This hasn't been hemmed yet - and its already about 2 inches shorter than I'd like it. (It was an accident, though. I thought I was measuring accurately.) And I made my sleeves shorter too, since I didn't have enough fabric, but it turns out, I like the sleeves in that length.)

I made a size 36 - which is my usual BWOF top size. In perfect 20-20 hindsight - I should have broadened to a 40 at the hip. The shirt is pretty boxy, and another inch at the hip would help it hang better. I could also shape it better at the waist - there's a lot of excess fabric there. My fabric doesn't stretch a lot too, so its actually a bit tight near the armpit. (I think its visible in the picture.)

The thing that makes me mad is, I really liked this fabric, and could have used it elsewhere, in a sleeveless top, or something. I tried to make it work here - and wasted it all. Bleah.

Anway. This top didn't take long to make either, so, back to the drawing board again. Not a total wadder, anyway, I think I can wear this one outside the house. (If I shouldn't, please, nice people on the internet, please tell me.)