It's Finished!! Kwik Sew 3338

Whew! This top is complete! I'm so happy. I would be ecstatic if it wasn't for the wrap disaster I suffered through during the break. And to think that stopped working on this to attempt that wrap. The top looks better on me than it does on the form. (I can't seem to get the padding right on the form since I put the cover on it.) I don't know what's causing the neckline to do that, but it's good enough for me (my expectations aren't that high yet.)

What took me forever on this was the hem. Not that it was all that difficult. It's just that as I kept trying to pull the top down over the butt on my dress form that was larger than mine, the fabric developed runs. There was no more extra fabric to be had, so I had to figure out how to fix runs that were about 1 1/4" in some places.

I folded the hem so all of the runs would be on the wrong side, but I was afraid of losing too much fabric. (This top had to work.) You can still see a little of the Fray Check on the right side, bit it's not too bad. The result isn't perfect, but wearable, especially since I made this top to be worn only with this poncho. I'm more than a little ticked about the run that developed in the neckline. Needless to say, as a safety precaution, I finished the edges before hemming.

I used to think Burda had the best directions in the industry, I now give the award to Kwik Sew. My next three tops will be knit ones from Kwik Sew.

My technical issues included sewing the neckline. Not because it was all that hard, I just didn't have much experience doing it. I found the top stitching was a little challenging, I don't think I ever got to the perfect stitch length and tension combo. This was my first attempt an an FBA, I'll get it right as time goes on. There are issues with this one, but the poncho hides all sins and mistakes :-) The parts that show look great! Remember how your mama told you to always wear clean underwear in case you were in an accident? I hope nothing ever happens to me while I'm wearing this top! If I find more fabric to match the poncho, I'll remake this (but I'm in no hurry.)

The cool thing I learned is that instead of using my non-adjustable overcast foot, I could use the zigzag foot to get the proper seam allowance and then cut off the excess fabric. (Cut me some slack; I'm self taught and it's a slow process.)

I told my coworkers that I would be wearing this on Monday. Looks like I will. It might even make an appearance at church tomorrow :-)