Revisiting a TNT Pattern (Butterick 5450)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Since 2013, I have made a total of 8 garments using my favorite pattern Butterick 5450. In 2013 I made four dresses using mostly summer prints in woven cotton and linen. You can read them here, here and here. I also made a holiday dress and the top version using fabrics more suited for fall. And when I participated in Pattern Review's Sewing Bee, I used that pattern to meet the refashion challenge.

And the latest addition to this ever growing collection was sewn out of desperation. Leave it to the husband to give me 48 hours notice of an event that we needed to attend. Why not wear one of those Butterick dresses, you may ask. Well, because of the print and fabric they looked  a bit too casual looking. But a more important reason is the fit. Looks like my sweet tooth finally caught up with me. I had to go one size up for this latest version.

 

 This beautiful silk twill fabric has been in my stash for several years now. I purchased this from Gorgeous Fabrics and could not decide on what to do with it. Being silk, it has a sheen to it and is quite lightweight. 

To add some body to the main bodice fabric, I decided to underline it with a woven fusible interfacing, specifically this Pro-Sheer interfacing purchased from Fashion Sewing Supply. I love this interfacing as there is no need for pre-treatment.

I just cut the bodice patterns out of the main silk fabric and the interfacing, fused them together and then treated them as one.

For the bodice, the pleats had to be folded from the outside (the right side of the fabric). I didn't want to put any markings on the silk so I just finger-pressed along the pleat lines on the pattern while it was pinned to the fabric.

For the skirt portion, I used another fabric from my stash but I cannot remember where I got it from. I did not label it so I'm not sure what kind it is but it is medium weight woven, feels like twill but with a silky sheen. It looks like dark taupe in color and coordinates really well with the multicolor bodice. 

So here is my dress and I'm so happy with how it came out. 

Vogue 1440 Donna Karan Collection Top

I don't usually wear button-down blouses especially collared ones but the unique yoke back on this top pattern immediately caught my eye and I decided I needed to have this in my wardrobe.

I made a muslin using only the essential pieces--the front, back and yoke. I skipped the collar and the facings. Based on my bust measurement I should have chosen size 8 but I always find that the big 4 put too much wearing ease on their patterns so I muslined a size 6. I needed to shorten the top by 3" (taking off 2" along the lengthen/shorten line and 1" off the hem), take in 5/8" from each side seam along the bustline to prevent gaping along the armhole and raise the bust dart about 1/2".

For the real version, I used a linen blend fabric from Jo-ann's. It is a beautiful shade of rose and has a lovely drape. Made of 55% linen and 45% rayon, it is not so sheer and lightweight.

I also sewed a second version using leftover stash from a previous project. Pictures are shown below.

The pattern instructions were very detailed. In fact, they were so detailed that they tended to be confusing at times. For instance, in step no. 3, it says "To form fly, with wrong sides together, fold right front along remaining foldline, bring stitching lines together, press." The bolded was not really necessary as folding along the line automatically brought the stitching lines together. This makes it sound like an additional step that needed to be done. Anyway, that's just me nitpicking. On a positive note, all the tiny details make for a well-constructed and cleanly finished top. Here are pics showing some of those details I loved.

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Back vent

Center back seam

Hidden button placket

Here are some sewing notes I wrote down that may be helpful as they certainly helped me when it was time to sew the second version.

1) When laying out the front pattern pieces, make sure the right side of the fabric is facing out. Same with the pattern pieces. That way, you make sure the right and left side are cut out correctly.

2) When transferring the markings, it is okay to put the markings for the foldlines on the wrong side. However for the buttonhole markings, it is best to mark them on the right side.

3) When altering the length, make necessary adjustments to the placement of the buttonholes.

4) When doing the French seam, I sewed the seams 3/8" from the edge wrong sides together, trimmed to a scant 1/4" then sewed with right sides together 2/8" (1/4") from the remaining edge. I am still wondering why the pattern instructions state to sew 1/8" from the raw edge, then sew along the seamline.

5)  Be consistent with the edgestitching on the armhole and yoke facings so that the stitches match when it's time to sew the shoulder seams together. I had to rip seams several times when I was sewing the first version as my stitches didn't match. See pic below.

It was better the second time around!

And here are finished tops. One in rose linen blend and another in mustard yellow with cream eyelet accent on the yoke back.

Jalie Dolman Top 3352

I have sewn this pattern last year to make a Christmas gift for my daughter. You can read about it on this post from last year. Now I have made one for myself using this cool combo fabric from Marcy Tilton.

Poly/Lycra Panel print, Rayon/Lycra mini stripes, Nylon/Lycra Dot mesh knit.

I have previously sewn a muslin using cheap knit fabric from my stash and felt I needed to go down one size from my usual Jalie size. The neckline was too low and wide on my regular size. However, with the smaller size, I needed to lengthen by two inches. Fortunately, adjustment lines are provided so one doesn't have to worry about lengthening or shortening along the curved hemlines.

I used the panel print for the front piece, the mini striped knit for the sleeves and the nylon dot mesh for the neckline and sleeve binding.

For more accurate placement of my panel print, I cut out my front pattern as a whole piece, instead of cutting on the fold.

The back was cut from the poly/Lycra fabric and I had to carefully match the stripes on the lower part.

I opted to bind the sleeves using the nylon dot mesh. That way it matched the neckline binding.

As with any Jalie pattern, this was a quick sew. The only trouble I encountered was with the fabric itself as the poly/lycra knit was very thin and tended to roll at the edges. It took some trial and error before I could get the correct coverstitch settings to avoid tunneling at the hemline.

I have a feeling this will be another Jalie favorite of mine.

McCalls 7093

This year, I have been slowly revamping my wardrobe, replacing my RTWs with my own hand sewn items. I have been sewing a lot of knit tees but I also plan to add some woven tops and blouses. Unlike knit tops, I don't have any TNT patterns so for this project I decided to make a wearable muslin. I have some polyester challis purchased from Fabric.com last year.

Portland challis Dot White/Black & Black/White

McCalls 7093 is a pattern for pullover tops and tunics with hemline variations and optional design details like front side slits, pockets and fabric contrasts.

I combined different views opting to keep the front slit and omit the pockets.

The back hem is longer and offers complete coverage making the top perfect to go with leggings.

I love the design elements of this pattern. The cap sleeves, although really small, are perfectly shaped owing to the darts. This is also  a good opportunity to practice various seam finishes, including French seam for lightweight sheer fabrics. I plan to use some of my fabric scraps to make more versions of this pattern. I will probably shorten the front and back a bit, though.

           

Lisette B6168

This Butterick pattern is for a tunic or dress and features a bodice with front pleats and a partially gathered skirt with raised waist.

To choose which size to cut, I compared my actual bust, waist and hip measurements to the pattern chart and the finished garment measurements provided. Since my hips were the widest, I had to  make sure that the size I chose would have enough wearing ease around my hips.The problem was the bodice area would be too loose so I decided to go with the size that would work best for my upper body and just grade up towards the waistline and hips. To be sure, I made a mock-up of the bodice using cheap muslin. 

I used two fabrics purchased from Jo-Ann's. For the bodice, a solid linen/rayon blend in "honey" and for the skirt, also a linen/rayon blend in black/cream. I love the drape of these fabrics. 

The bodice front consists of two overlapping pieces that are pleated. There are no closures and only the small tab holds them in place. Surprisingly though, I did not experience any "gaposis!" There is also a wide midriff piece connecting the bodice to the skirt. This makes it easier to make adjustments.

The back has darts and invisible zipper closure.

The skirt is gathered in the center, both front and back. I was a bit apprehensive about this as I thought it would add needless bulk but this design element actually works for me in that it serves to camouflage any tummy pooch.

Although rated "average difficulty" this pattern could easily be tackled by beginners. Just a tip for beginners though is to read on best way to sew darts and apply invisible zipper. Personally, I always had good results following the instructions enclosed with the zipper packaging. 

Here is the finished garment. It is casual and a nice comfortable alternative to the fit and flare style which I can't ever pull off.

Fun with Raglan a.k.a. Jalie 3245

Still part of my "spring cleaning," these three tops were all created using one pattern. Jalie 3245 is a pattern for raglan top with several design options. I already sewed a racerback tank two years ago and if you'd like to revisit my post on that, it can be found here.

The middle one probably looks familiar. I used some leftover fabric from my recent project, the Christine Jonson princess wrap top. I just love the combination of the black and white print with yellow.

The pattern only had four pieces (front, back, raglan sleeves and neck binding). These made for fun print combinations and colorblocking. 

 To break the solid monotony of the back, I accented with piping along the back raglan seam. 

Creating the piping. 

I decided to finish the sleeve hems with binding cut from the printed fabric to mimic the neck binding shown here.

Isn't this the perfect top for a sunny spring day?

These other two tops were created using fabrics purchased from Emma One Sock.

Soft, supple, high quality rayon jersey from EOS is just a pleasure to sew and wear!

The necklines, sleeves and hems were all finished according to pattern instructions.

To make the process of sewing the narrow neck binding easier, I basted the binding over the seam allowance after sewing it around the neckline. 

I can't choose a favorite! If you haven't tried this pattern or any Jalie pattern for that matter, what are you waiting for?