Built By Me

I would like to start by saying a sincere thank you to everyone who left comments on my winter coat, both here and over at Pattern Review. It really brightens my day to hear such lovely compliments from people I have never met but who I consider my peers. And yes, I have been fortunate enough to wear it a few times over the past couple of weeks. I don’t mind putting it away until next year now.

I took a few days off after I finished the coat to decide what to do next, cut out three tops and then promptly fell ill with a cold. I feel a lot better now but sound awful (I got sent home from work today for sounding ‘like a chainsaw’), curse the hacking cough that stays with you for ages (mind you, my sister has had fluid on her lungs for weeks so I got off lightly!). My fella has been sick too but fortunately the WII keeps him out from under my feet and I have got little bit of sewing done here and there.

The first of the three tops is Simplicity 3964, a ‘Built by you’ pattern. Even though I am a bit long in the tooth now for junior patterns, I just can’t resist them. I think this is a fairly grown up version though, so I am happy.

Here's the front:

A close up of the front yoke:

And the back:

First the likes.

1. It was cheap. About $3.00 worth of lace, left over lining and polycotton poplin I bought for something else.

2. It will be comfortable. I don’t really go for sleeveless at work, but our summers here are so hot I can’t bear anything under my arms. I love these ‘sleeve on the top, sleeveless underneath’ styles.

3. It’s cute. I like how the colour combination turned out and I think it looks quite fashionable.

4. It’s loose but not too preggy looking – hide my belly but without making people feel the need to stand up for me on the bus, or ask if I am pregnant – both of which have actually happened (the shame!).

Now the dislikes:
1. It’s a little small. I’d already cut the pattern in a 10 some time ago, a 12 would have been better. I’m not sure if you can tell and I’m not encouraging you to perve but the girls are pretty well crammed in!

2. The sleeve are cute but part of me thinks they look a little odd – a bit ‘Lost in Space’ costumey. Or maybe ‘The Jetsons’. I’m a space nerd anyway so I don’t really care too much.

That’s all. Read my review for more technical stuff if you like. I promise I’ll try to get my next projects up a bit quicker.