Pattern Review - Simplicity 3837 Top

I'm still working on getting my mojo back, but it is happening. I decided, on Leslie's great advice, to make a simple knit top. This one was in my stash, as was the fabric, so I pulled it out and gave it a go.

Pattern Description: Wardrobe of misses' tops. Made for knits, these tops have neckline and sleeve variations. made view A, the long sleeved version.

Pattern Sizing: 6-22. I made a 14.

Did it look like the photo/drawing? Kinda sorta. I changed some things and left off some other design features, but the base was the same

How were the instructions? Didn't use them. This is a very easy shirt the way I made it. I didn't need them.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? As I said above, I'm looking to get back my sewing mojo. I thought this would be a good, fast project to jumpstart it. It's a basic design with good bones, and it's easy to make.

What I disliked is that this beast runs BIG. This seems to happen a lot with Simplicity patterns lately. Now granted, I didn't do a flat pattern measurement before cutting, and my bad for that. But for the size 14, they give a finished garment measurement of 37 1/2 at the bust. That should be just fine on me, but this was significantly bigger than that. I've found that sizing in Simplicity's patterns can be pretty hit-or-miss of late. I'll definitely go down at least one size when and if I make this again. It's also lower cut than it looks on the model. It covers my bra, but I may end up layering a cami under it just for extra insurance.

Fabric :Get Ziggy With It jersey from (of course) Gorgeous Fabrics. I love the colors in this fabric. It's a bit mind-bending to work with, and if you have an astigmatism I could see this making your eyeballs vibrate. The trick to working with this kind of busy chevron is to cut your pattern pieces out using a single layer layout. I aligned the grainlines so they ran down the points of the chevron. That made it much easier to get the result I wanted.

Any pattern or design changes? I made a FBA, using the same technique I used for the Simplicity Kimono top I made last year. Here's a picture of the resulting pattern piece.

I'm going to modify this a bit next time, to curve back upward a bit at the center front. That will make it snug up a bit better. From a design standpoint, I skipped the overlay that the pattern shows. It's a cute idea, but since this print is already very busy, I didn't think it would add much to the top, and might actually end up detracting from the overall effect. I also skipped the ruching on the sleeve and left them plain.

I stayed the shoulders using a tip I published over at BeSewStylish.com I use fusible tricot that I cut 3/4 inch wide by the length of my shoulder seam. I align the edges of the tricot and the back shoulder and fuse. This leaves a little "hangover" into the garment. Apparently my explanation wasn't very clear, and it's easier to demonstrate with a picture, so you can see what I did here:
This stabilizes the shoulder seam, and the tricot doesn't add any bulk.

Would you do it again? Mmmm, possibly, but probably not. There are lots of other top patterns that I would probably want to make first. This isn't a bad pattern, but I'd rather do something else, you know?

Conclusion: A nice top. It's definitely getting me more interested in hitting the Chanel dress again. I may make one more (a different pattern) before jumping back on that horse.

Here's a picture of the finished garment:


Happy Sewing!