Once I had
the perfect golf skirt I needed an athletic, collared top to pair it with. And the GreenStyle Creations Pacific Pullover fit the bill perfectly. Thankfully, like the Pace Skirt, this pattern was also linked to fabric recommendations by The Fabric Fairy and I purchased both.
Since this was a .pdf pattern I had the copy shop file printed online and shipped to me. When I have enough lead time I much prefer this to printing patterns at home which, in my opinion, are less accurate to the original shape due to taping together many small sheets of paper. I prefer to block cut my patterns, pin them together at what would be the seam lines for my size, and fit the pattern to my body instead of making a toile. The problem to using this method with .pdf patterns printed on paper is that paper isn't nearly as flexible as tissue or fabric and it's difficult to get a good idea of fit.
My measurements ranged across the three smallest sizes and, with a rough pattern fitting, I decided to cut the pattern using a straight size small. I should have gone the extra mile here and done a pin fitting of my fabric pieces, instead of plowing ahead with sewing. Wrong decision! I quickly realized the top was going to be much too boxy for the fitted athletic look I was going for. I tried to make it work with a few small adjustments but ultimately needed to rip out what I had done and start fresh.
After ripping out all the seams, grading the pieces from a small in the hips to an extra extra small in the waist and an extra small in the bust, and reassembling the top I was much happier with the fit. As I sewed I tried to add extra finishing touches like grading seams, understitching, using stay tape in the shoulder seams and hem tape in the hem.
This pattern is drafted for someone 5'7" and I am 5'1" so I immediately removed 4" from the shorten line in the middle of the pattern pieces. This was far too much and I would only remove 2" in the future. Thankfully I plan to tuck this top into my Pace Skirt so it will still work for what I have in mind.
This was my first time sewing with supplex lycra and I'm glad it was so forgiving after all my seam ripping! It is said to be wicking, but with its microsueded back it was also a bit difficult to topstitch.
Ultimately I am really happy with this top and now that I have the fit issues figured out I can certainly see myself making a few additional versions of this top. When I do make it again I might try a more traditional finish to the collar piece as I don't find the twill tape the pattern called for forgiving enough.
Pattern:
GreenStyle Creations Pacific Pullover
Size: XXS-Small
Fabric used:
Beyond Tango Red Supplex Lycra Jersey Knit, 90% Hi-Wick Microfiber Supplex Nylon/10% Lycra
Time estimate: 8 hours (from the second start!)
Cost to make:
pattern - $10
pattern printing - $7.50
fabric - $14.50
thread and zipper - from my stash
TOTAL: $32
