Finishing the Knit Top

September 20, 2024

Well, that didn't take long.  Looking at that old piece and trying to figure out what was wrong was really holding me back.  I have cut and finished this gorgeous knit top and look at the way it scrunches around the neck.

PHOTO OF FRONT NECK SCRUNCHING

And yes, the videographer has been properly chastised for messing up the light in this video!  But this shows the scrunchiness of this collar, making this even more fun to wear on those cold winter walks with the dog! 

This went together like a breeze and about the only problem I had was how to finish the bottom of the jacket.

I decided to do a waistcoat type cut on the bottom, but really it's more like a cutaway.  Here's the difference.  

A waistcoat is just that - a vest that ends at the waist.  It's used mostly in the full drape cut to cover the pants waist.  Most often the pants worn with this have a drape, and is held up by suspenders.  The waistcoat covers all that making it look remarkably beautiful especially when it hangs well.  

A cutaway is the most formal daytime jacket wear.  It's worn for very formal daytime occasions.

Here's Prince Charles's wedding and all the gentlemen are in their most formal attire for day - the typical cutaway jacket.  It "cuts" away from the center front.  

What this line enables me to do is to make that round corner now a sharp corner where I can do a flat and very nicely tailored miter on that corner with the grosgrain ribbon.  

You can see all that with this video, and how to miter a corner when you're using grosgrain ribbon as binding.  That corner really came out so much better than the rounded edge.  

And for the final, model and chastised videographer so that the backlighting will be much better!  

So the huge takeaway here is that getting rid of that old ponte jacket totally freed up my enthusiasm and creativity to whip right through this jacket, even though I had quite a few challenges.  

• The thickness of the fabric makes it yummy for winter wearing, but the devil to make it behave.
• The grosgrain ribbon trim, was really the way to go, as having another layer of facing would have made this jacket enormously bulky and almost impossible to manage.  I'd say the fabric was easily 1/4" thick. 
• The thickness made this act like a very stable knit - more like a sculpted garment than a draped one, so there was the constant reminder that this would hang like a sculpture, not the typical tailor's drape.
• The closer had to be comfy but wind-proof (the Southern Plains gets windy in the winter), and yet not so sculpted that it couldn't move easily.  After all I wanted to be comfy in this, not poured into it!

Even with all that going on, it seemed the challenges were normal and the every-day problems and problem-solving that go with creating something new.  

So get rid of that old project that is holding you back, and get on with something that can bring you great comfort and joy  - like an early Christmas present! 

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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