Friday, February 3, 2012

Knit Top Necklines


You can't have enough knit tops, can you?  And after so many plain vanilla scoop necks and v-necks and the like, it's time to start searching out some interesting neckline variations.  I just finished this lightweight, heathered sweater-knit top, using my TNT (that's tried-and-true for you non-sewers out there) knit top body and the collar/neckline from Vogue 8497, a trio of Marcy Tilton tops.  You can read about my assessment of this particular collar on Pattern Review.

The method for grafting a different collar or neckline onto your basic top is simple:  align the center front and the waistline of the pattern whose neckline you want to use with your TNT pattern, then trace a new pattern using both.  It can get a bit more complicated, as in this top below with the pleated neckline, using a Vogue dress pattern, 8663.  In that case, I made a trial bodice front out of some leftover knit, just to make sure it worked.  A little extra time but worth the extra effort to prevent an unwearable top and  lots of aggravation.
 
One other suggestion I have for knit top construction is to trace a complete pattern, not half a pattern, for the bodice front and back, plus a right and a left sleeve.  It is sooo much easier to get that slippery knit laid out straight, and it's almost imperative when you have a pattern that you need to match or position in a certain way.  In fact, on the top above, had I not used this method, I doubt that I would have gotten the heathered knit so straight across both the front and the back.
Vogue 8663



5 comments:

  1. What I would like to know is, who helped you make that outstanding custom-body-fit dress form that I can see in your photos? Perhaps you could tell us something about it?

    Whoever helped you with that must be a really nice and exceptionally good person! You are SO LUCKY!

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    1. Curt, what a great idea for a post! I am definitely going to blog about my terrific custom dress form, giving due credit to my extremely capable and (wait...let me search my thesaurus!) ah, accommodating spouse who helped me create it.

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    2. Well, I can certainly see why you would get up every morning and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS for having such a remarkable, selfless and accommodating spouse! I bet he's exceptionally HANDSOME and EASY GOING too!

      You must be a very special, not to mention BEAUTIFUL AND SEXY PERSON to have made such a CATCH!!!! How did you do it??? CAN YOU SHARE YOUR SECRET!

      Yours in anticipation of a prompt reply in the blogosphere.

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  2. Julia, Thanks for your comment on my blog-I am thrilled as I have long admired your work on PR. Love the tops above, especially the heathered one.

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