Look at me!  Well, actually I’m kind of hard to miss in bright red… but my points are:

• I’m sharing another new-to-me pattern Kwik Sew 3880 (View B)
• I’ve sewn a non-patterned item of clothing

Kim from The Cloth Shop was wearing a black viscose version of this top when I visited the store one day in January.  I fell hard for those sleeves…  dramatic sleeves just seem to be my thing at the moment!

I brought the pattern from Kim and then raided my sizable stash to find this glorious tomato red viscose knit.  Is now a good time to confess that I can’t remember where this fabric came from?

My local chain sewing supplies store has moved into larger premises which are a further five minutes from my house.  It now takes the same amount of time to travel to the chain store as it does to go to The Cloth Shop.  So when I need basics like thread, elastic etc… I’m choosing to support an independently owned store where I can get a park out of the front, I’m greeted with a friendly smile, sewing advice is on tap, there are lots of in-store samples (not to mention fabric) to inspire, and if I’m not in the mood, I know I can hand over the task of finding the perfect matching thread for my fabric to someone else!  Happy days.

Have you seen Shelley’s post on the Oliver + S blog about hemming knits?  When sewing cotton/lycra knits I’ve had great success hemming them using a combination of fusible knit stay tape and a twin needle.  This works well for stable knits where the hem is rarely stretched out, but I knew that method wasn’t going to cut the mustard for this top as the bottom section is quite close fitting… or was that figure hugging?… and hem needs to be able to be stretched.

Anyway, I knew this old dog (me!) was going to have to learn a new trick to conquer this hem.  After taking Shelley’s advice, I can now announce my enduring love for woolly nylon thread!

The only changes I made to this pattern was to raise the front neckline by 1 inch and to add a neckband using the method explained in Jorth’s tutorial.  Although, I deviated from Jorth’s instructions and used a twin needle (with a woolly nylon bobbin!) when top stitching the seam allowance to the body of the top.

And my final thoughts… I feel a little self conscience in this top (I’m so not used to anything being clingy anywhere!) but I’m trying really hard to get over myself and enjoy this new-to-me silhouette in a not-to-be-missed colour.

Pattern:  Kwik Sew 3880 (View B)
Size:  Small
Fabric:  Viscose Knit
Alterations:  Added 1″ to the neckline and used my preferred neckline finished for knits – adding a neckband.
Accessories:  Gifted beads (a special birthday present from a special friend!) and shoes from Habbot
Photo Location:  Eastern suburbs of Melbourne