Sewaholic's Pendrell Top Recap

In my last couple of posts I've shown the muslin and almost finished product for this top, as well as or a no-pattern skirt I had intended to wear with it to my event Saturday night.

There were a couple last minute wardrobe changes. I still wore the top, but had to change the cami underneath - it was too big on my shoulders (I had it pinned up on the dressform) and didn't play well with the blouse. Having no shortage of black cami's, all was well.
 

This is the only picture I captured - prior to hemming and finishing the inside side seams, but after coming home from the gym, so here I am in all my sweaty glory, not a stitch of makeup.

  The other wardrobe change was to nix the skirt in favor of pants. I woke with a bum big toe joint yesterday morning, so had to go with more orthopedic looking dressy footwear. My vanity would not let me do the skirt. The pants are Eileen Fisher, stretch crepe fabric with an elastic waistband and a comfortable, high waist. I've worn the heck out of them, and thy are washable, a bonus.

 My daughter suggested I leave the length of the top longer since I was wearing the slacks. I did, and it was the right decision. As far as wearability, I found it to be quite comfortable. I had it on from about one in the afternoon until 3am when I got home, ripped of my outfit, and climed into bed. I received many compliments on the top.

 As far as fit is concerned, it was great except for the back, which had a little extra fabric bunching at the back waist. On my next iteration, I will adjust the back - probably a sway back adjustment, or take in the princess seams, or both. I didn't have time to fiddle with it before the event, since I am on the event committee and had to be there early.

 The painstaking time I have spent fitting a shoulder princess blouse (an ongoing project to be resumed soon) helped me to quickly fit this top. It was a very straightforward process to adjust this pattern - I did a cheater FBA and graded out from a smaller shoulder size to a larger bust and hip size. After making up a quick muslin, I found it to be too large and had to reduce the pattern before cutting the lace. I also moved the princess seams outward toward the arms by 1/2" in the front. For the back, I adjusted the upper part of the seam lines only so they would match at the shoulder with the front princess seams. In the end, since the lace wasn't quite as stretchy as my muslin fabric, I took 1/4" seam allowances at the side seams.

This was my first Sewaholic pattern. It is nicely done with good instructions, and I found the pattern to be well drafted. I liked the construction order, with the armscye bindings being applied in the flat. I was not interested in the sleeve variations for me, but I think it's a perfect tank top for my figure. The princess seaming was done in a way that makes it doable for me with my generous bust. This pattern seems pretty versatile to me, and I am sure I will make it again. I would highly recommend this pattern to anyone interested in this type of top.

 By the way, the event was a great success, and lots of fun. The party extended into the wee hours with some committee ladies (who are dear friends) and I whooping it up at an all night breakfast joint. Laughter is good for the soul, and even though my soles hurt like hell, my soul feels good.

 I will resume the shirt fitting/making soon, after I get caught up on the stuff of life (and Oh God, there is a lot of that), however I am suddenly, inexplicably drawn to Vogue 8499, the Marci Tilton Pants Pattern that has been making the rounds for a while now. And I'm still contemplating that gorgeous piece of silk gracing my studio with it's presence. And I have fabric waiting to be made into window treatments...

Happy sewing,

Andrea

Oh, and ps - the hound we rescued has a name - Zelda - and is a sweet, playful girl. However, she is really a dog, who does silly dog things, whereas Crystal morphed into a human ages ago. We've been spoiled all these years. ;-)

My sweet, calm, old girl.

See that tail wagging a mile a minute?  No calm here!