February 11, 2015

Another twisted top

And this, finally, is the last finished item I mentioned earlier. I took the pictures at the same time as those for my skirt but I wanted to be able to tell you how to make something like this. 
I designed and drafted the pattern for this top but it's that actually was a long time ago. Its first version was way back in 2011 and that one is still in my wardrobe. There as also a short-sleeved dress version which I can't find right now and a summer top in 2013 which was the first one with the neckline treatment I've just used again. 

Please don't mind the weird facial expression or the blurriness of the picture, but I enlarged this bit to properly show you the top (E didn't take any pictures closer up).
This new one was made from some jersey with knitted-in vertical stripes in alternating widths. With my orange skirt, I wore it tucked in but it also looks good over a normal pair of jeans (I wanted to take a picture of that yesterday but time and daylight didn't allow it).

When I first started to make twisted tops, I used the Pattern Magic instructions (even before I owned the book myself). By now, I'm so used to the technique that I don't even look at those anymore I think I have make a bit of an own way. And the rest of this top obviously bears little resemblance to the version made from the Japanese sloper. 

In fact, I'm not even sure this should technically be called a twist-top. The principle is quite simple: Two pieces of fabric looped through each other. 



I've tried to illustrate it with these two scarves. If you made a top like this by draping, you would probably start like this.
In the popular Burda version of a twist top, only the sides I've sort of folded together here are sewn closed and there's a separate lower body piece. In the Pattern Magic version and in most of mine, the bottom of the top is in one piece with the twisted part.

One of my personal twists to this design is the shoulder line: the dropped shoulder adds room in the upper bodice which always works well if you have a fairly small bust size.

In fact, this post is already getting a bit long so I think I'll stop for today. So, stay tuned for tomorrow's pattern tutorial!

4 comments:

  1. Looks perfect and sophisticated with the skirt - like it very much :-)

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  2. Very lovely colour combination especially for winter, that bright orange and soft grey. I have a beautiful vintage boiled wool orange skirt which I love to wear, woolly skirts are one the best things about this time of year. I love the cut of the skirt too, it's very 1930s in that long lean but not tapered style, something I may have to copy.

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  3. Hi Lauriana, I think your top is great. Love the style and it is definitely a twist. :)

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  4. This looks much easier than the pattern I'm currently working with (Simplicity 1716). Maybe I should try both and compare?

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