Friday, March 18, 2011

Butterick 5283, Supplex Asymmetric Twist Top

Butterick 5283 Thumbnail

When Cidell and I visited NYC last November we dropped in Stretch House to pick up Supplex technical wicking fabrics for athletic clothes. It's funny to compare our purchases (mine and hers--scroll to the bottom of the post) because you can see how different our taste is in color. I've got saturated brights and she has delicate pastels.

I'll be sewing mine up in the next couple months in preparation for my bike trip. I will try not to make this the all activewear, all the time blog, but you're gonna get a lot of it.

This is the third time I've made this view of Butterick 5283, so I don't have much more to say about this project. It was my first time doing it as a sleeveless top. It has an extended/drop shoulder, which is not my favorite look for a blouse with sleeves. However, the extended shoulder is perfect for a bike top. I don't want sleeves because it can be too hot and I don't want my armpits strangled with too much fabric, but at the same time I want my shoulders covered against the sun. This is the perfect compromise!

The outer edge of the shoulder kind of sticks up. I thought it was due to my sloping shoulder but if you look at the pattern illustration you see even in the drawing that it is designed that way (this being a rare exception to the rule that you shouldn't trust a pattern with illustrations and no photo). I don't have strong enough feelings to unpick my twin needle sleeve hem and correct the shoulder slope, but for future iterations of this top I might taper that shoulder seam.

Back As drafted, this is a somewhat unfitted top, with plenty of ease at the side seams and no shaping in the back. For athletic wear I prefer more fitted clothing for better range of motion. Not that I need that much range of motion in my torso for biking, but whatever. I cut a 12 below the bust to the waist and hip, but ended up taking in the waist a total of around 2.5 inches at the side seams and an additional 1.5 inches in back darts.

I usually add a center back seam to allow for swayback correction, but I had previously made this one with back darts and decided to do the same for this version. Marking darts on yourself is hard, lol. To work with my particular shape, the darts are widest at the waist and for about 3 inches below the waist, where my swayback curvature is most pronounced. They run to the hem foldline and up to the shoulder blades. The hardest part was getting the darts evenly spaced from CB. I'm going to have to mark the pattern with these next time so they will be symmetrical!

Front The only problem I had was that I *swear* the last two times I made it I sewed the diagonal twist seam and then did the twisting, but on this one I could NOT figure out how that is possible. I had to unpick the diagonal seam, twist, and then re-sew. Odd.

I want my biking tops to be wearable, fitted tees, but the thought of having just plain sleeveless t-shirts strikes me with horror. So I've been combing my patterns for interesting but not *too* crazy knit top patterns. This one fit the bill perfectly and since I'd made it before was a no brainer to be included in the mix. One down, five to go (or more--I just made an order from FFC after swearing I'd never order from them again; we'll see about the quality of their $3.95/yd wicking knits)

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

22 comments:

Sisters with Letters said...

Wow! That's for biking? You'll be the most stylish rider out there. It's adorable!

Karin said...

I love that cobalt blue. Perfect colour for a natural red-head! First Erica's blue dress now your shirt. I have some of this sitting in my stash, I really need to get on with making something out of it, before I die of envy :-)

Tanit-Isis said...

It's very, very cute, sleeveless. And you did an amazing job fitting the back! The colour is great, too. :)

Loren said...

Looks fantastic. The blue looks good on you. I am digging the more fitted version of this top.

cidell said...

I am about to be your ugly step sister on this trip. I haven't made ANYTHING.

Faye Lewis said...

Love the color, and the top is a great fit.

MushyWear said...

Awesome fit and beautiful color!

Marie-Christine said...

Very good idea, to make interesting tops out of technical fabrics. But 'wicking' isn't enough, why aren't you using real technical fabrics? http://www.milldirecttextiles.com/ is my favorite source. It may be more than $4/y, but it's worth it if you need real function..

AllisonC said...

It's brilliant! Much more exciting than most overpriced workout wear I've seen.

Marie-Christine said...

Sorry, I forgot.. It looks to me like your back darts are too long. Kind of like you wouldn't prolong bust darts over the fullest part, you shouldn't have back darts that go over the roundest part of the shoulder blades. My own back darts are unusually long, much more than regular patterns, but stop as soon as you get really into the shoulder blade.

gwensews said...

There you are, wearing that beatiful blue color that is so good on you. Terrific top. And,the dress in your previous post is really cute, Dottie!

Anonymous said...

The shape of this top is perfect for you. I have a similar body shape (smaller bust, wide back, muscular theighs/butt), and I've been wearing this shape for a while (extended shoulders) because it's so flattering and balances out my bottom half. It's super flattering on you as well.

Uta said...

I love that color blue on you; it may be my favorite! And how clever to use regular patterns for activewear... I may have to try that on a leotard one day.

Anonymous said...

Just to echo everyone else, that color really is gorgeous!

Kyle said...

I love superman blue!
You are really cranking the garments out! your closet and dresser drawers must be bursting at the seams!
Plus you always write such detailed posts and thorough reviews--how do you have time for anything else?
Super cute shoes by the way.

Mrs. Micawber said...

Thanks so much for telling us where you got your fabric - I'm about to make some cycling tops and was wondering about fabric sources. (I like to ride in "normal"-looking tops too.) Yours is adorable. I can sympathize with the swayback fitting issue. Make those darts as long as you need to!

McVal said...

LOVE that tee with a twist! I know my girls would love that too. Will figure it out as soon as I'm done with my plethora of dress making...

Noile said...

This version looks great1 I actually love that sleeve (sleeveless?) variation on you -- I think it's very flattering; suits you to a "T"! I like the way the shape of the top shows off your tiny waist and balances the look with your lean (biking?) pants.

Clio said...

Wow, great top, although I would definitely find non-biking occasions to wear it, too! It is super cute and a fabulous color on you.

Angela said...

Cute top!! I agree.. that's for biking? I think you could wear anytime!

Jane M said...

What an amazing set of clothes for this upcoming trip. You've inspired me to reconsider this as an exercise top done sleeveless. I was not thrilled with the extended shoulder but for summer it's a winner.

badmomgoodmom said...

That's a very cool bike top. When you bend over the handlebars, does the back of the shirt keep you covered? I noticed that my bike shirts are all lower in the back than in the front when I stand, but it evens out when I bend over and ride.

Have you considered inserting a back pocket for energy bars in the back dart seams?