In very quick succession, after my second Kirsten T, I made #3. This time, I decided to change things up a bit. One of my favourite RTW tops (and the last one I've bought) has a front made of poly chiffon and the back is a fine poly knit (from Jacqui E - a mid-range Australian clothes range for women - lots of corporate wear). I really like the drape of the front and the knit makes it so comfortable. So I thought I'd give something similar a go. The September MAGAM theme 'snoop sewing' was all the incentive I needed.
I decided to go with similar fabrics to the RTW - a polyester chiffon for the front and a lightweight poly knit for the back. To assist in fit and improve the hang of the top, I cut the chiffon on the bias. I was a bit worried about the this. Cutting chiffon out is always a challenge - slippery and fine. Add cutting on the bias and I was sure the whole thing would skew. So I cut it out on the floor (no weight dragging anywhere) and used a mix of weights and pins. One arm was a little off but on the whole the front and back matched up well.
I used the same neck finish as previous Kirten T makes, using a strip of the knit fabric. I treated the chiffon front and knit back slightly differently. I stretched the neck over the chiffon only very slightly - enough to keep the neckline sitting flat. I stretched it out more over the knit. I varied up the topstitching too - plain straight stitch on the chiffon and a triple stitch over the knit. The front is sitting beautifully. A little bit of puckering on the back. I think this could have been remedied with some stabilising. Next time!
I wasn't sure how to best finish the hems. Should I use different finishes for the chiffon and the knit? I decided to focus on the best finish for the chiffon. I chose a narrow double-folded hem. Rather than try to wrangle a double folded narrow hem with the knit (impossible!) I chose to fold that over just once. And then a triple straight stitch to finish the whole lot. It worked.
I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Please forgive the crappy photos. Black is so hard to photograph.
Nicely done! I've seen lots of shirts like this and wondered if I could make one. I'm still not sure if I will, but thanks for sharing your process!
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily. I thought it would be harder than it was. I treated all pattern pieces and seams as if they were knits. It was only the hems that I mixed it up. And it's one of the most comfortable work appropriate tops I have.
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