Yesterday I had a little lesson in matching the fabric to the pattern.  I thought that I’ve give Jalie 2787 (the Criss-cross top) another go, but with a straight sleeve I’d nicked from another Jalie pattern rather than the flutter sleeve version.  I had some lime green knit fabric in the stash which was fairly thin and didn’t appear to contain any lycra or have loads of stretch.  Here is the result.

Eeewww. That fabric shows every single line, fold, crease and bump that is underneath it. Amazing that this was cut from the same pattern pieces as last time!  I do like the colour (I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea) but I think I’m unlikely to wear it.  Here’s the back.

More lumps, bumps and wrinkles.  So, moving on.  I had plenty of the same fabric left over, and I’ve been keen to try out Hot Patterns 1089. I thought I’d start with the cowl neck version. According to the measurements guide on the back I was closest to a size 12 (actually, my measurements encompassed sizes 8, 12 and 16, but that’s a whole other blog post) so I traced off size 12, cut it out and got sewing. The fabric worked much better in a loose drapey style.

Very loose, I hear you say! I must try standing straight in these photos too. The pattern has a sleeveless version, elbow length sleeve version and long sleeved version. I chose elbow length, obviously.

I think that this is at least one size too large. Next time I’ll make it in a 10 and maybe even grade down to an 8 for the hips. But it doesn’t show all the bulges and lines and bumps that it did in the Jalie style. I used a self fabric band at the bottom of the sleeves – the pattern suggests rib – and the sleeves were much longer than the picture on the front of the pattern indicated.

So overall? Choose your fabric carefully. Really consider the style you are making and what will work best with it. Pay attention to the recommendations on the back of the pattern envelope! And when making a new pattern in unfamiliar styles or fabrics it is worth doing a muslin first. I’ve never been a big fan of sewing up a muslin but now I can really see the value. Slow down, enjoy the process, and learn.

And I did wear this top today!