I used Color Pop Rayon Knit Print - Daisy - Coral for this top. From the website: "This medium weight rayon spandex jersey is very soft and drapable, it is perfect to sew stylish tops, dresses and skirts." It is 95% Rayon/5% Spandex. It calls for hand washing but we all know that's not how I roll so I prewashed the fabric and preshrunk it in the dryer. To be honest it washed up beautifully.
If nothing else prewashing helps to see what a bad job the fabric stores do when cutting fabric! It had clearly been stretched out of shape and then cut that way. To be fair to my local fabric store this bolt was on the "discontinued" rack and therefore may have been shipped in that way. Fortunately I had bought 2 meters so I had lots to work with. I also made NL 6034 which will get its own post.
So back to NL6735, yes I know I have a dedicated posted for this pattern but I had to do a write up about the new neckline. After making this top more than a dozen times I've decided I wanted a less open neckline. It isn't too deep but it is quite wide. You can see that on the pattern pic. It just covers my bra straps and if I end up with a fabric that is a bit too soft I find myself constantly making sure all is covered. As I age I feel a little more coverage would be more flattering on me.
First I traced myself out a new copy of this pattern. The old one was quite battered after being used so often. This is the beauty of tracing out patterns instead of cutting the tissue; there is no way the tissue would have stood up to being used so many times. Then I drew a new neckline 3/4" in from the old one while leaving the depth of the neckline the same. I was initially going to go for 1" but thought I'd start at 3/4" and I think it is just right. I also remembered to do the same to the back shoulder.
I'm really pleased with how the neckline turned out. The size and shape is very flattering on me. I used my flexible ruler to determine the size of the new neck opening and then did the math to do a neckband at 80%. That seems to be just right as it lays nice and flat and even. I didn't serge the seam this time as I usually do thinking that it would reduce bulk but I'm not sure that was an advantage in the long run and will probably go back to serging. I think the big difference in getting a neat topstitching was that I used the walking foot. I usually only use the walking foot for quilting and I think it helped feed this thin knit much better than a standard foot. The finished neckband and topstitching both look neat and even.
I did use the coverstitch to hem the sleeves and bottom, but it was such an ordeal that I am doing a separate post about that.
This is such a lovely pattern. It has a back seam to add subtle shaping and it has ease built in at the bustline. The cap sleeves are so flattering and I have made it enough times to get the length right for me. This is a timeless classic and with the new neckline I see more coming to my cutting table.
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