Kimono Wrap Top - second time around

When I buy fabric, it's not always apparent what it should be made into. Some fabrics shout out exactly what they should be as soon as you clap eyes on them.  For others, it's more of a slow burn, with ideas coming and going.  I prefer to wait until the perfect combo presents itself, sometimes this happens whilst I'm on the bus, when I'm asleep (yes, I dream about fabric...) but sometimes it's when I see a garment on another sewing blog.

That's what happened with the 2m of blue/grey wool mix I found in the bargain bin of my local fabric shop over a year ago.  I've had lots of ideas of what to make with it but it was only when I saw Stephanie's blue knit wrap top that the penny actually dropped. There's a bit of a story here....at the end of last year, I sent one of my vintage patterns (Advance 7701) to Steph to copy, after she put out a plea for a 1950's wrap top pattern.  

It was only after she made up her version that I knew what my wool fabric was destined for. I would make another wrap top from Advance 7701, but this time in wool - a kind of kimono cardigan.  As a further little twisty turn in the life of this pattern, Steph has now created her very own Kimono Wrap Top pattern using the original vintage pattern as a starting point.  Her pattern is available for sale on Craftsy.  I can't tell you how happy this makes me!

Anyway, Advance 7701 was the first vintage pattern I bought and the first one I sewed back in November 2010.

I struggled a bit with the instructions and seem to remember the whole process taking a long time. The end result was a wearable muslin that happily has been worn a fair few times.  Second time around and it was like I was sewing a different pattern. Everything suddenly made perfect sense and the cutting out and sewing was a doddle.  It just goes to show how sewing on a regular basis really does improve your skills, whether you're using vintage or modern patterns, or even just making a few cushion covers - it's all practice.  The whole process of cutting out fabric and following instructions don't seem quite so daunting when you're doing it virtually every day.

MUCH happier this time round! Can you tell?

So in summary, it was a smooth, easy make.  I did think of lengthening the ties -  the ties on my first version refused to go very far round my distinctly non-1950's waist and I ended up wearing it knotted at the front here, without any actual wrapping being done. I still like it worn that way, but it's a bit of a shame not to wear it the way it was intended. This time round, I banked on the wool having more stretch to it and it did.  Way more stretch actually, it wraps around and ties quite easily.  It's a simple pattern - there are only three pieces and one of those is just a tiny rectangle for the back collar.  The main piece is absolutely enormous though, so you can really only cut it from fabric with a decent width to it.  The only other change I made, which I copied from Steph, was to hem the edges of the top instead of using bias binding, which saved a lot of unnecessary fiddling time. 

Verdict?  I love, love, love it.  The colour, the kimono sleeves, the vintage look of it and the cosy, cosy feel of the wool mix.  I know I'm going to wear this a lot, especially as it goes so well with my high waisted sailor trousers. The fabric's quite light so I'm fairly confident I'll be able to wear it in the summer too.  Yippee! A great outcome for my bargain fabric.

How about you?  Do you always know exactly what you're going to make with your fabric or is it a long, tedious process?  I'd love to know. Happy Monday. x

First vintage outing...

Here it is ….. my first ever garment made from a real life vintage pattern.  And it fits me!  

I chose this pattern (Advance 7701) for my first attempt as it appeared to be pretty straightforward to put together: a simple wrap top with one cunningly crafted main piece plus a small collar piece and a tie end.  And because it’s a wrap top I didn’t think I'd have any tricky fitting issues.  Well the good news is, that’s more or less how it turned out.

Happily, the instructions were really clear and comprehensive – I was expecting them to be something along the lines of  “cut out, fit, sew, finish” but they were much more accommodating to the novice sewer.  Once I’d got my head round how the pieces fitted together it was very quick to sew together.  I cheated used my initiative just the once. Because I used el-cheapo poly cotton, it was almost impossible to slip stitch the facing down without it showing through on the other side, there just weren’t any threads of fabric to be had.  So I machined it in place and I don’t think it looks any worse for it. There were also a couple of tiny fitting issues.

First, the cut is one where the sleeves are part of the pattern front and back pieces rather than separate sleeves you have to fit yourself (I’m sure there’s an official sewing word for this, would love to know what it is!).  However, I think I have natural sloping shoulders (or bad posture as my husband pointed out, thanks love) and this tends to accentuate them.  I found this with the Sencha blouse as well.  I need to get into the habit of standing upright and thrusting my chest out as 50’s ladies were want to do (think Joan Harris nee Holloway) and it will probably look better. 

Second, my waist is definitely not a typical 50’s size.  The top is supposed to cross at the front, go all the way round the back and tie at the front. Hmm, not quite long enough.  

Look how tiny the knot at the front is!

I had to wear industrial strength foundation garments for this photo just because I was desperate to show it off (my first vintage pattern, yay!) and that’s the only way the tie was going to get round my waist.  Of course if I tried to walk or breath or eat or do anything at all, the whole thing would explode, so I’ll retrospectively add a little length to the ties to make it more wearable.  It’s also cut higher than current fashions, and as there’s more chance of hell freezing over than of me displaying my midriff, a black vest had to bridge the gap.  I’ll now need to add a high waisted skirt to my pattern list. 

This is more like the intended waist size

But… even though I’ll have to butcher it a bit to be able to walk in it, I do think I’ll actually wear it.  The style fits in with the rest of my wardrobe, the colour is right and it’s my first vintage top so it’s extra special. I love it.  x