Burda Style 02-2013-127 Top with Raglan Sleeves

As soon as I saw this top I knew I had to try it. Those ruched raglan sleeves seem to draw the eye upward and widen the shoulders. And after seeing some others appearing in the blogosphere it clinched it.

I decided to leave the hem alone, the fabric just rolls like crazy.

We had a really nice day last week and finally I didn’t have to wear winter boots! I love these brown boots, and they’re great for the shoulder seasons, they seem to go with many things too. Like grey! I love this combination. (Next time I’ll smile a bit!!)

 

And instead of the standard binding for the neck, I sewed one long edge to the inside first and then folded it over the front and topstitched without turning under, so the raw edge would roll over the stitching. I really like it! The only thing is that the binding is a bit too short and pulls the neckline. But oh well! Next time.

So fabric, I used another piece of fabric from stash, one of two pieces – different colours, same type - bought at the same time with the intention of making the same top. (This is also how I buy RTW, in multiples.) It’s a cotton/spandex and handles very nicely. I really like this grey colour, it’s becoming one of my basics, and I like how it goes with other basic colours.

As to the pattern, I made quite a few alterations. Even though I went with a size 38 for the upper chest/shoulder area it was really loose on my muslin (yes, I did a muslin!) and even when I tried it on too. This is an old T-shirt, it has no spandex so not a lot of stretch.

Oh right, I’ve decided to name my dress form Annie! It came to me in a flash, maybe a bit lame, you know,… I’m Steph and …she’s Annie…

Anyway, there was a lot of fabric in the shoulder area (on me and my dress form) and  started by pinning out across the front, a typical forward neck tilt alteration for me. But I see from the photos (I realize only *now* how this is useful!) that I removed this, and then tried a few different things (I LOVE having a dress form!) and ended up doing a bit of a full bust adjustment. NEVER in my life have I done this before, I never thought I needed it. But it seemed to help reduce the pulling. I have to mention, someone commented to this effect last year on my Sorbetto tops.

   

I slashed the upper back and raised it, also a standard alteration for my forward tilting neck (photo at left). Then I tried to minimize the sway back (right photo), but this didn’t translate well on the finished garment! Different fabrics sure behave differently! The sleeves got a big fisheye dart taken out too, but in hindsight this might not have been a good move because it changed the raglan seam from a straight line to a curve.

The altered pattern pieces look like this (back, sleeve, front).

After looking at the photos again, I might just nip in the waist a tiny bit. Overall though, I really like this top. And I’ll make another one soon too! Need more tops.

Next time I’ll reveal the Maria Denmark Day to Night top I made from the leftover red fabric of the Pavlova. This was such a nice quick make! And soon, soon the Beignet skirt…it needs a belt, and I have to make one.

Happy Easter everybody!