Cowl neck suit
Firstly, this looks distinctly better on me than on the dress form. I’m wearing it now. It is so comfortable.
This is the fabric that bought on the market for my dress to make on the afternoon of the knits sewing course. Had I got that far, it would have turned into a Tilly Coco, and actually i don’t think it is the right weight for Tilly’s Coco. I saw the McCalls pattern for a range of cowl neck tops in Sew Today, and thought that the fabric would be perfect. It is.
So the intention was to use as many of my knitted fabric skills on this project as I could. I sewed all of it with either the overlocker or the twin needle. And I soon learnt that I had to use the knife in order to get the seams in the right places so that it all fitted together properly. The shoulders are properly stabilised. I even overlocked the neck facing.
I didn’t even plan to make the skirt until the lunch time of the day that I made the top. I had bought 2m of fabric at £2.50 per metre, so had plenty left to make a skirt. I have a very simple pattern for a knitted skirt, so I just cut it out and overlocked. The most time-consuming part was the hem. Should I use the twin needle like the top? Should I just fold twice and hand stitch, as I usually do? In the end I overlocked the bottom and then hand stitched, and it took ages! This is probably one of those outfit where I will only wear the skirt with the top, although I may wear the top separately.
Normally I would shy away from tight fitting knits, but this is quite flattering.
Although I like the result, I did have a problem with the ‘adjust to fit’ top pattern. For tops and dresses, I can often fit a size 16 with minimal adjustment. There are instructions for fitting every aspect of the pattern, but as a result it’s as if they didn’t care where thy drew the lines. I altered several parts of the pattern to make it fit, and, you know, I don’t expect to have to do that. Having got my adjusted pattern now, I will almost certainly use it again, probably to make some cooler season tops for work.
This is a good work outfit. It suits my style and the image that I need to create. It washes and dries really easily, and it will travel vey well.
One Week, One Pattern
Me Made May 2016
Me Made May 2015
Simplicity Competition
Sew Over it Patterns
all my own work by ann 