sailor knots

after the marathon that was sewing my bombshell dress i was really feeling the need for something easy breezy lemon squeezy. in my mind, that means its time to sew a knit. some people get pretty freaked out by sewing with knits, and i can see why. they're stretchy, they require special machinery or tools - and sergers are scary. however you can't beat a knit top for comfort. and more importantly, its so easy to fudge sewing a knit!!

this little striped top started out as burdastyle 09/2011 striped top however after i basted it together in my size it was just.... really unflattering. so unflattering that i didn't even keep it on long enough to get a picture. so i did what any self respecting sewer would do and i rolled it in a ball and stashed it in a drawer.

i kept hoping that divine inspiration would strike and i'd know what to do with my striped top. i even spent some time searching anthropologie's website - the queen of quirky/cute knitwear. after some deliberation i decided to just make what i had work and started by lowering, and widening the neckline a good three inches. then i exaggerated the dolman sleeves because, while some people might dislike the dolman, i just can't get enough of that saggy armpit look! i shortened the sleeve and added ties - which i really debated but i think they gave the top just a touch of cute. i also narrowed the torso to further exaggerate the fit. all this was done fairly blindly - which is why i love sewing with knits - you just fake it till you make it. so yeah, total 360 from my bombshell dress.

you may remember from this post that one of my goals for my fall palette wardrobe was to sew a striped top. well friends, here it is in all its glory and we have officially completed one two garments for the fall palette challenge!

in closing, i'll leave you with this...

xx