Misc. sewing... trunks, pet blankets & a muslin

I have been doing a bit of practical sewing lately.  Nothing flash, but all needed. 

First up I have made one pair of men's trunks from Jalie 2327.  DH is going to trial these to make sure he likes them before I make anymore.  This pattern is discontinued now - I don't know why as it gets great reviews.  I found some elastic with stripes on it in a grey/black by chance at a closing down sale.  The blue fabric is tee shirt leftovers.

Next up more left-over fabrics, pretty lace elastic and fold over elastic made up this cream set for me.  Another Jalie pattern - 2564.  I have made this before and love how it uses up left-over bits and pieces.  The striped pair are cream on the back and have foe for the elastic.  This is another discontinued but highly recommended pattern.

Another pattern I have made before - Tanga pants.  I made the x-small this time, as I thought the  small was on the large size last time I made them, but now that I have made these and trialed them, I am thinking small is the right size for me.  I think this lace elastic may not be as soft as the last lot I used.  Thank goodness for stretch I can and will still use these, but think I will go back to small next time.  

I am trying to clean out some clutter and this polar fleece was never going to be used as the piece was probably too small for most things.  So I have cut it up and hemmed it into 4 small blankets.  One has been given to my cat, and the other three are going to the RSPCA.

... and last but not least, I have made a muslin of a Lekala top - 4042.  This is actually the second muslin.  The first one I used a fabric from Fabric.com.  First up I put the yoke piece in the wrong way and didn't work it out until I had sewn the whole top!  Why I didn't realise when none of the pieces matched properly I don't know?!  Anyway I unpicked the yoke pieces and  put them back in.  The top was on the smug side but not too bad.  Then I washed it and it shrunk (I had pre-washed too) and to top if off it developed a hole!  Unpicking rayon always leads to disaster!  That one is in the bin now which is a shame as the colour was really pretty.  

This is the second muslin.  A lovely rayon from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I think this one might have more stretch in it.  I found it so much easier to sew now that I sewed the yokes the right way!!  I sewed the side seams a little narrower to give me a little more ease and viola!  

Not hemmed as yet as I have run out of Steam-a-Seam, but I wanted to show you the end result.  

The collar is a little floppy but this fabric is very soft and I think it can work with a slight roll-over.  Now that I have this pattern sorted I plan to make a pile of these as I really need some higher necked tops with long sleeves.  I have some real pretty merino jerseys I plan to make it up in as well as a glitter fabric for after-five wear!  Can you have too many of a good top??

BTW the instructions and pattern are pretty good but it does not mention when to sew the centre front seam.  I have sewn it after the collar both times so far, but am wondering if it may be better sewn before the collar.  If  anyone else has made this top please let me know what you think about when to sew the CF seam.

ETA - I have contacted Lekala patterns and asked this question - they replied really quickly - sew CF seam first, then move onto the rest of the instructions.  They also said they would correct that on their patterns - very impressed with the customer service!

Ciao!