I Don’t Want to Say Goodbye To The Summer

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Butterick 5493

Summer is my favorite season. I love sewing summer clothes. It’s the textiles, the colors and their style. It probably has something to do with detesting winter with every fiber of my being too. In my world sleeveless tops are a year round wardrobe staple. I am in and out of varying degrees of climate control. In other words the HVAC systems just aren’t the greatest or most consistent so I add and shed layers of clothing a lot. With that in mind, let me introduce Butterick 5493 view B, a sleeveless top pattern. This is a quick easy predictable pattern to construct.

Let’s get to the most important part first, the fabric. I chose a stable turquoise jacquard

knit from my stash that was from Canvasbacks, a manufacturer of high end women’s sportswear. My most interesting fabrics often come from the years when Canvasbacks sold their excess inventory. Think fantastic fascinating fabric from Europe at really low prices. Alas, they have gone out of business. As much as I mourn the loss my house thanks me. The sheer weight of the fabric I bought there makes my house groan. I digress in my textile grief.

This is a well drafted pattern, i.e. all the pieces matched the way they were supposed to. It is close fitting without being body hugging. The cut of the neck and shoulders stays in place and hides bra straps. It has a higher neckline in the back. I find that this helps a garment stay in place better than the lower options. I like the addition of the cowl. It is attached as a separate piece so there is not excess fabric in the bust area that is needed for a true cowl neckline. Depending upon the fabric used, this could be either a dressy or casual piece of clothing.  It is nice to have a simple garment that goes together quickly.

I almost always choose the size I make through a comparison of flat pattern measurements to the correlated measurements of good fitting garments that I own.  It works much better than trying to base my decision upon the information provided on the envelope or flat pattern measurements without such a reference. 5493 includes a bust dart. Patterns for knits have often ignored darts. Darts in knits, if you possess any bust above an A cup, make for a better fitting and more attractive garment. I did not adjust the dart and it fits fine for my C cup self. The other issue I have is low necklines. I am short. What might work on a taller person can create a “hoochie mama” revealing neckline on me. I compared this neckline to those in other garments and decided it would not turn “hoochie” on me. I always borrow Sandra Betzina’s hint to leave extra inches of fabric on the side seams when I cut the pattern out. This allows me to fit the garment without having to anticipate how the amount of stretch in the fabric will affect it. I find it can be hard to anticipate fit in this area with the large variation in the degree of stretch from one fabric to another. Leaving the extra fabric compensates for this variable.

After wearing this, there is a few tweeks I would make if I were to make it again. The first is individual to me. We all know we are not perfectly symmetrical on both sides of our body. Lately, I notice in the sleeveless clothes I sew, and the ones I purchase, the right armscye will fit fine. Then my left one will be lower and my bra will show. Not a good look. I like the other views, so when I make this again I am going to draft the left armscye bottom higher. This will mean I will have to draft a pattern front that is cut through a single layer rather 2 layers on the fold to compensate for the inconsistent shape between sides. The other adjustment would be to cut the neckline higher. This is a fairly stable knit so it doesn’t stretch out of shape easily. I think the weight of the cowl probably puts a little extra stress on the neckline. I have found as I wear the top it starts to droop with the stretch and is too low, especially when sitting. After raising the neckline, I will have to redraft the cowl a bit so that the curve and length in compatible. I am happy with the pattern and wouldn’t adjust anything else.

 

Butterick 5493 offers a variety of views. They differ enough stylistically the pattern can be used multiple times. I am not someone who likes to make the same pattern over and over, nor do I want to draft myself, so this is important to me. The accurate pattern drafting and easy fit of 5493 causes me to recommend this as a good pattern for a beginner to expert to make.

Links:

Pattern

 http://butterick.mccall.com/b5493-products-11205.php?page_id=972