More tops and reviews done.

Today I wore my Ottobre waterfall top and found it very comfortable. I did put a black camisole underneath it this time and as you can see it was much better - thanks for the comments on this top!

I also reviewed it and the review can be found here.

I also have completed two other tops. They are both Burda WOF 02-2009-108, the bateau neck top which has been very popular. I made the first one in a good quality black knit fabric using the pattern without any changes. I didn't follow their instructions, but sewed in the sleeves flat. In the instructions, though it does say to use vilene bias tape on the neck-line edges, the shoulder seams and the armhole edges. I did put some on the neckline edge and was very sorry as it pulled the neckline in too tightly and pulled the shoulders up. I consulted with my sewing guru BFF who advised me to tug on the neckline until it 'popped'. This I did and it did help a bit. Hopefully it will relax some more as I wear it. This black knit is quite tight so I would not use bias tape interfacing on the neckline again, unless the fabric was flimsy.

However saying that, the second fabric is more flimsy but I used no tape and it worked much better. (Next time the only part I will put interfacing on is the shoulder seams to help stabilise them).

The second one was made with a mesh fabric. I doubled the fabric for the front and back and left the sleeves as a single layer. I also did not hem it but trimmed the hems even and left them raw. I have seen this done with RTW.

The review is here if you want more detail on how it was made.

I had my second jacket lesson and we practised welt pockets as well as discussed the next steps to take. My pattern has fake flap pockets, but I plan to make real welt pockets with flaps as well as a bound buttonhole to get the most out of the lessons. That will be next week, this week I need to sew the darts and side seams so that I can be ready to put the pockets and buttonhole into the jacket at the next lesson.