Noile dot Net

I’ve never been a big fan of Sandra Betzina’s patterns; they seem a little, just slightly, on the matronly side.  Really nice patterns, if you were inclined that way, but, I don’t know, blocky maybe?  Maybe kind of matronly?  And I’ve always thought this had something to do with the “Today’s Fit” sizing, which I read as being for bigger, more “mature” women.

Well, whether or not the rest of me is following, my bust seems to have joined the “bigger, more mature” category.  I’m having fit issues, so, Sandra, here I come!  I still can’t get my head around the style issues, but I’m looking for a tee I can live with, so I started with this Betzina tee:

The one one the right.  Yep, a tee shirt with a dart.  It’s come to this .  .  .

This poor thing’s been through a hard day, and my pose is wonky, so please forgive both of us for looking so, well, ratty.  This pattern comes in Betzina’s A, B, C sizing.  I cut a size C, except in the shoulders, where I cut an A.  (Betzina’s Today’s Sizing has a bust size similar to Vogue, but a much larger waist, and a larger hip.  Only the bust size was relevant for my top, of course.)

We’re not going to discuss the fact that my bust is asymmetrical, and that I’m not going to wear the kind of armor that would correct this normal, human issue.  Suffice to say, the darts are symmetrical, even if I’m not.  It does look as if there’s a little bit of pulling across the chest, though, so I need to address that.  My bust is one inch larger than the C size, so, in this case, I guess I should have trusted Vogue sizing.

I dropped the bust dart by 1.5 inches, to accommodate my real bust, and shortened the dart by .5 inch, so it didn’t run across the front of my chest.  I also lengthened the top by one inch, and took .25 inch out of each side of the back neck to conform to my shape there.  (I remembered to alter the neckband to accommodate that change; that’s a critical step.)

The dart placement is just right, though there’s a little pulling at the lower front of the armhole.  Is that fit, or the result of my bizarre, chicken-wings pose???  I haven’t gotten this “modeling garments” thing down yet.

The back is fine, but someday I really am going to have to address the swayback issues.

Other reviewers have noted that these sleeves are tight; they are, but I like this fit.  I think most people wouldn’t, and if I were actually as big everywhere as Betzina’s size C, these sleeves wouldn’t work on me.

So, does it make sense to wear a tee shirt with darts to accommodate a larger bust?  I kind of think maybe it does.  If  I buy RTW tee shirts that fit my bust, I’m swimming in the rest of the shirt, because the rest of me just isn’t that big.  I’d rather feel relaxed in a tee shirt than slobby, so maybe this is a better choice.  Interestingly, I really liked wearing this shirt — it felt like clothes, not like a sack I’d pulled on, but was still just as easy-to-wear as any old tee.

Incidentally, I cut this shirt from a heavyweight Fruit of the Loom men’s tee.  Ever noticed what great colors men’s tees come in these days?  Much nicer than the pastel, icky women’s shades.  And the fabric, while nothing to write home about, is about 1000% nicer than cotton knits at JoAnn’s.  Lots cheaper, also, even if you need two.

This is about a 45 minute top — there’s nothing to it really, so whipping one up is really no problem.  I love stripes, though, and that makes all the difference.  Twenty minutes to sew, and a lifetime to match the stripes:

I weigh 121 pounds in these pictures, but I look like a linebacker.  Let this be a lesson to you:  Stripes are not your friend.  I don’t care, though, because I love the thrill of matching them up.  I cut a size 12, which Simplicity calls a 34 bust.  Right.  Mine is 37, and I’ve got plenty of room in this top.  What is wrong with these people?

See those folds next to my bust?  That’s where darts should be.  Or at least, it’s where you’d put a dart if the sleeve weren’t a dolman.  But, gee, it’s a tee-shirt!  Who wants structure in a tee-shirt?  (The next knit shirt I make is going to have darts, though.  I need to know if I can live with a dart-fitted tee.  And find out if a fitted tee is actually a good idea. )

I made view F, with longer sleeves and the v-neck:

Here’s the back, also not flattering and in need of some serious swayback help:

This is just a knock-around tee, so I’m not too concerned about these issues.  It’s comfortable, and easy to wear.  The sleeves are cut all-in-one with the bodice (there are just two pattern pieces), and that’s not really a slimming look, either, especially if, like me, you’re a little bustier than your size would suggest.

The sleeves are perfect on me, which means that they  may be a little on the short side for someone with longer arms.  The pattern envelope doesn’t say that they are 3/4ths length, but I’ll bet that’s what they are on a taller woman.  I suspect that Simplicity skimped because this diagonal design uses a lot of fabric; longer sleeves might mean a more contorted cutting layout.  It’s odd that they don’t mention that the sleeves are short though.

The instructions have you just turn and stitch the raw edges.  That’s what I did for the hem and sleeves, but I bound the neckline with bias tape to stabilize it and give it a nicer finish.  I really prefer to make a facing on a v-neck top like this; if I make it again, I’ll draft one and do that instead.  I added two inches to the hem; that’s great for tucking it in, but it’s really more than I needed.  An inch would have been fine.

The chevrons turned out well.  I matched them everywhere — center front and back; side seams; and shoulder/sleeve seams.  I love this stuff.  It makes my geeky heart sing.

I’ve documented my frustrations with knit hems before, but this time I tried something new I read about somewhere.  (Can’t remember where, unfortunately.)  I used wooly nylon in the bobbin, winding it loosely and gently by hand.  Then I did the topstitching with a double needle.  The result was smooth and beautiful, inside and out.

Matching stripes isn’t difficult at all; it just takes care and patience.  The trick is to cut each garment piece as precisely as possible.  There are several ways to do this.  It’s important to cut each piece individually, making sure that each obvious line matches up with its mate on the seamline.  It’s not actually the edge that you care about; it’s where the seam falls that matters.

When I sewed with plaids, I’d actually draw the major lines of the plaid onto the pattern pieces so that I could match them perfectly when I reversed the tissue pattern to cut a corresponding left, right, front or back piece.  Stripes are easier.  You can draw them, too, on your pattern tissue, but another, faster method, is simply to turn your cut piece over with the tissue still attached, align the stripes perfectly, and then cut the second piece out.

I’m a killer at pin basting; I hate to baste anything with thread, and over the years I’ve become very proficient at using pins to hold my unsewn garment together under the needle.  But for perfect alignment, I pin stripes first, and then baste.  When the margins are so small, you really don’t want a stray pin shifting even a thread or two as you sew.

I think Mr. Noile isn’t a big fan of this one.  When I took it in to show him, he rolled his eyes and said it reminded him of this:

Then he beckoned me to step closer to the screen, so that I could fully experience instant vertigo.  I think he’s trying to tell me something.

Image source: http://i.imgur.com/0bXCJ.jpg  (If anyone knows the original source, please let me know.)

Dorothy, in the comments below, suggests that this may be from this link (see “Impossible-figure rotating snakes 2” and prepare for extreme eye agony if you follow the link!)