As many of you have confessed on this site, I too have been “creeping” silently on this site before taking the plunge and deciding to post some of my creations.
For my first post, I decided I would show the project I finished most recently: a simple 1950s top from an original Simplicity pattern – the basic view.
Cute four-way pattern purchased on E-bay.
The fabric I used is a modern polyester faux silk I had picked up just because I liked the colour palette – wine, black, white and grey in an abstract pattern. Normally, I’m not big on patterns of any kind, but I’m trying to branch out in my wardrobe.
I fell in love with the abstract pattern and the colour palette.
Due to the slippery nature of the fabric, I decided to underline the whole bodice with a wine coloured organza. Doing this allowed me to omit the use of interfacing of any kind, which made me happy as the instructions called for the interfacing to be fused to fabric instead of the facings. Personally, I am not a fan of this method and find any which way to avoid it whenever possible!
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Organza hand stitched to fabric to add a little stability.
I hand based the organza pieces onto my fabric and then hand stitched the markings for the darts in the yellow silk thread. I find that silk thread is worth the cost when doing a project like this as I can use a thinner needle which eliminates (or at least cuts down) any flaws running a needle through the middle of your fabric can cause.
Darts were marked using yellow silk.
There were a total of 8 darts in this top. I love the fit they provide!
I serged my raw edges as the organza decided to start fraying. I think when I do this pattern again, I might use bias tape instead to make it look prettier on the inside. My personal preference is to use invisible zippers whenever I can as I’m not a fan of lapped zippers. (Might also have something to do with the fact that technically I’m better at putting in an invisible zipper than a lapped zipper, but let’s pretend I’ve made the conscious choice to use the invisible zip!) I also hand stitched the hem with a wee blind stitch. I felt that running a machined line of stitching at the hem would break up the clean lines of this top. The organza made pressing the hem a little challenging – I wasn’t able to obtain a REALLY crisp hem without the fear of scorching any of the fabric – even with a pressing cloth.
The finished product!
All in all, I really liked how this turned out. I think I would like to make this one again – I’m thinking the one with the bow and possibly finding a way to incorporate contrasting piping in the vertical darts.
girliefrank
This post was written by...
girliefrank – who has written 5 posts on WeSewRetro.com.
I live in beautiful Vancouver, BC (Canada) and have been sewing for almost 30 years (eek!) My grandmother put my first "real" sewing project in my hands when I was about 8 years old - a counted cross stitch - to ensure my hand sewing was up to par before I was allowed to use a machine. I have recently "retired" and while learning to be a haus frau for my almost vegan hubby and my four-legged Parson Terrier son, I have had a chance to get back to sewing! I hope to be able to share some of my work with you on a fairly regular basis!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Gorgeous! I love the colors, and I admire the quality of finishing. The organza flatlining was clearly a really good idea.
Next time, to create a flatter hem, consider cutting back the organza to the finished garment length; then you’ll just be folding the fashion fabric up around it.
Thank you! If I use organza again to underline, I will ensure that I cut back at the hem. Silly of me to not do it this time!
Another Vancouverite! Welcome!
Thank you.
Welcome! Wauw a beatiful top!
Tak! I love the fabrics you use for the clothes you make for your kids. So fun.
That came out beautifully! I have a pattern I’m working on from the 40′s. Fingers crossed it comes out this good!
Thanks. I can’t wait to see your results!
Looks great! Love the fabric!
Thanks! Your Vito is adorable.
I have that pattern(sans instructions) ,your’s looks great,love that print.need to size mine up and give it a try,with that bow.
The pattern is pretty straight forward, but let me know if you need them. I can see if I can scan them and email them to you if you’d like.
Very pretty! and to work with that kind of fabric is very difficult (at least for me) great job and I like the fabric also
Thank you. The only thing more difficult working with this fabric without the underlining is if I had to cut it on the bias!
Love the color palette as well! The top looks great!!
Thank you!
Very nice! That pattern would also make a nice dress–add a skirt with godets to give a little flair at the bottom. I can really picture that. Thank you for sharing, it’s beautiful.