Button Back Top - 2nd Draft

This week I finished up my second version of "Style 2". That's it's working title at least. When I've perfected it, I might give it a name of it's own (open to suggestions!). I'm classing this as another wearable muslin as there are elements that still need tweaking....
Whilst the sleeve treatment is a vast improvement on my slight deviation previously (stick to the plan P, stick to the plan), and is an accurate reflection of the original design, it still needs a little refining. Essentially, the sleeves look perfect from the front, but there are too many drag lines at the back shoulder. My best guess is that I drafted a slightly too acute underarm curve and  also need to enlarge the armhole slightly. Either that, or I'm thinking I may bite the bullet and try it with a set in cap sleeve.  To accommodate the kimono sleeve I rotated the bust dart into a French dart eminating from the waist. I included a "faux" button placket (complete with buttonholes) just to test out the look of it before I went into all the faff of drafting a placket and facings. What's particularly pleasing is that my sway back issues are nowhere to be seen with this draft. Yay! I used a light to medium weight cotton, and whilst the previous fabric was too light, I'd say this is marginally too stiff to be perfect. So somewhere in the middle for the next go methinks. Having said that, I don't want to sound like I'm on a downer with this top at all. I'm not. Overall I'm really pleased with it. I like the fit of the French darts. I drafted a neckline facing for this version and am really happy with the neckline as a result. I'm so pleased with the effect of the faux button back that I probably won't even bother with drafting a functioning placket for this design; and as before I love the contrast of the scooping hems front and back. Essentially the only changes I'll make to this will be the sleeves (set in and cap next) and the weight of the fabric. Not bad really :) If I wanted to make the sleeveless version it would be near as darn it perfect!
Full details of the process after the jump...


I mentioned that I rotated the bust dart into a French dart in order to accommodate the kimono sleeve. Here is my first attempt with dart in it's original place. The kimono sleeve requires alot more depth in the armhole than a set in sleeve to allow for movement. With the bust dart in it's original position I couldn't have dropped the armhole down far enough or it would have interfered with the bust dart.If you look at the angle where the underarm curve meets the side seam, it's quite acute...

So on the advice of my tutor I rotated the bust dart into a French dart. (See here for how to move a dart). This allowed me more space to enlarge the armhole and create a smoother underarm curve. The first pic is the pattern in draft. The second once completed with seam allowances etc.  I've left the tracing of the original block  in place to show the changes to the neckline and armhole more clearly ...
Here's a better view. Like I said, I should probably have dropped the armhole down even further than this...

Close up of the new underarm curve and how the new sleeve relates to the original block (dotted lines)...

Close up or the shoulder and how the new draft relates to the old block...

Once I'd perfected the sleeve on the front pattern I simply traced it onto my back pattern piece so that the front and back sleeves matched exactly and lined up properly. As before, I then drafted a new hemline shape on the front....

...and the back...

The key thing here is to line up the side seams and ensure that the curve flows smoothly where the seamlines will eventually meet. It's also important to ensure that at least the first few mm or so of the new hem line is at right angles to the CF and CB. This will make for a smooth curve that flows seamlessly from front to back and will avoid a pointy look at the CF and CB...

To create the faux button placket I simply pinned the CB of the completed pattern  11/2 inches away from the fold. I sewed straight down the CB line to create a "pleat" along the CB; pressed it flat (centred over the CB seam), and top stitched down the edges of the pleat. I then added machined buttonholes and sewed buttons on over the top of them. Super quick and easy :) I might do a seperate step by step for this actually as I'm not sure that makes sense!?

Of course, one of the down sides of drafting your own patterns is there are no markings to transfer to the fabric, unless you put them there. So I made a point of circling all the points where seams intersected and/or would need to meet, dart points etc and marked them with tailor tacks...

And that was it really. As I said, this version is probably the most accurate representation of the original idea. It's really pretty satisfying to be able to take something you've sketched on a bit of paper...

..and be able to render it in fabric and turn an idea into a real garment.
Even if it does still need some tweaking, would I have been able to do this 2 years ago? Not a chance! Sometimes it's good to sit back and appreciate how far you've come, rather than how far you've yet to go!