Friday, January 16, 2015

New Look 6648, Butterfly Wing Knit Top

NL6648 Thumbnail

New Look 6648 has been a perennial favorite at PR, but for some reason very few people have made this butterfly wing view, perhaps because it is an insane fabric hog.

This was one of my quickie makes before my trip to Italy in October.  We were going to have cool but not cold and probably wet weather, so I was looking for transitional tops.  This is probably too much fabric to wear in the heat of summer, but for early fall it was perfect.  I also wanted tops that could go with leggings.  Though this isn't long (I seriously cannot find any long tops that will work for my wide-hipped, belly-pooched self), the volume up top is a nice contrast to a fitted bottom.

Shorten Crossover for SBA

The top is very simple and only required a little bit of alteration.  As usual, I shortened the crossover for a small bust adjustment.

This is still quite drapey and I ended up tacking the two sides together at center front.  This is always a defeat for me--sewing should mean never having to tack a wrap style into place!  But at least I didn't have to resort to the safety pin of shame.



Shape Band

The lower band is drafted as a straight rectangle.  I altered it to have a tiny bit of waist shaping--you can see the bulge about 2/3 of the way down.  The bulge is the bottom of the band; only the top layer is gathered so the bulge is not in the center.  The top and bottom edges are the waist and are a little bit smaller than the bulge fold/hip.





Gather Single Layer



The instructions have you gather the side edges of the band, then stitch.  I find it harder to do that than to sew the seam, then put in the gathering stitches on either side of it.





Walking Foot to Stitch Down Ruching








Once I pulled on the threads to gather the upper ruched band to the fit the under non-ruched band, I used my walking foot to zigzag the gathers in place.









Dart at CB










The small amount of waist shaping I did at the cutting/sewing stage on the band was definitely not enough to deal with my swayback.  Before attaching the band to the bodice I took a large dart at the upper edge of the band at center back. Next time I will just cut it with a CB seam pieces and integrate the dart into the seam.









CB Dart, Outside



I gathered the outer layer of the band before stitching the dart, so there is ruching in the dart.  It made for a very thick dart, which I cut open and trimmed before attaching the bodice to reduce the bulk.  Taking out this width in the band required slightly gathering the bodice before attaching it to the band, but this is in line with the style.

I finished the neckline by serging clear elastic to the inside at the raw edge, then turning under and twin needling.




Hiking





I wore this for our beautiful day of psuedo-hiking in Bergamo, Italy (we were mostly on a road, so it wasn't much like hiking).  Admittedly, it looks a little weird with my athletic skants here.

Front














However, it does look good with skinny jeans, which was the whole point!




Closeup

The lighting in my new photo spot in the house is still quite challenging, but I'm sort of getting there.

With this closeup you can notice that the crossover is tacked if you think about it, but I don't think it's *too* obvious.

All in all, this fabric hog is worth the fabric in my opinion.  It's a fun look that hides a multitude of pasta!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.

17 comments:

Little Hunting Creek said...

Very pretty! I can't see the center tack, so it isn't noticeable. I love this style

kajero said...

Wow! The blouse is beautiful. I put the SBA adjustment paragraph with the text on my Pinterest board with a link to your blog. http://www.pinterest.com/kathy3217/sewing-fitting-techniques/
Please let me know if this okay. If not I will delete it.

BeckyMc said...

LOL "Safety pin of shame" ! I'd prefer tacking a wrap over wearing the camisole of capitulation. :)

badmomgoodmom said...

Ditto about the 'safety pin of shame'.

Super-cute top. Italy is about eating. I am so glad you are someone who thinks ahead!

Leslie Anne said...

Your shirt turned out lovely. I like the fabric you chose for it. I really like reading about all the clothes you make. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

I love what warm tones do for your skin and hair, which is really long. Stylists would kill to be able to recreate your color. The combination of colors in this wrap and it's easy style make this a winner. Lovely to read a post from you.

Elizabeth Made This said...

Oh, the safety pin of shame. That one made me laugh--we've all done it. This is a great top--it looks so casual and the skinny jeans combo balances the volume of the sleeve well.

Kyle said...

Welcome back!!!

My coworker actually stapled together her V-neck crossover the other day as the "safety pin of shame" was not available.

Alice said...

Very cute! The style and colours really suit you!

panavia999 said...

If your "skant" was a dark color instead of grey, the combo would be just fine. It's a comfy practical look for walking. Love to see your posts. Thanks.

Kristy Chan said...

Great to hear from you again (hope that doesn't sound stalkerish!) Great top, it looks great with your black skinny jeans

McVal said...

That is adorable!!!! And what a great vacation!

June said...

Multitude of pasta, ha ha, love it! That's a really flattering style for you, looks beautiful. Have you seen the Decades of Style blouse?
http://www.decadesofstyle.com/products/3005-1930s-butterfly-blouse

Mary said...

Safety pin of shame...very good :-) I love this on you, especially with the grey layers.

Digs said...

This is a beautiful top, congrats! And how did I miss that gorgeous pleated dress???!! Superbly becoming, I hope you get lots of wear of it in the spring. Soon...soon, very soon.

helenko said...

Missing reading your posts. Hoping all is well with you and wishing you a marvelous 2016!

L said...

Miss your posts! Hope you are well.