Sewing with Ottobre Patterns: 4/2006 issue, shirt #31

A quick pattern review for you today. :)

When I went to cut this pattern out, I realized it needs 2 cuts of the front piece for the crossover. However, there wasn’t enough of the fabric I wanted to use to cut two. Instead of making a mock crossover and attaching the binding of the top layer to the mock bottom layer, I opted to eliminate the neck binding and just use the extended front shoulder on both the left and right.

The fabric is a Fresh Produce french terry knit that I dyed bubblegum pink last summer. It came as a white-on-white print and dyed wonderfully.

I normally make a size 146 for my daughter and did that in this top. It seems this pattern runs a little small. The sleeves are just barely long enough. I omitted the elastic gathering at the sides because I didn’t want it to be any shorter in the body. With the current sizing, this top will only get a handful of wearings before it is retired. Good thing Spring is supposed to come in a couple months!

All the pieces lined up easily, and making the change to use one piece in the front was simple enough. It’s a pattern worth making again, just in a bigger size. I’m leaning towards making the front so it only looks like two layers. My daughter’s school is pretty warm and she really doesn’t need the extra layer.

Overall:

Size – It seems to run a little small.
Design – Good, everything matched up where it was supposed to.
Make it again? – Yes, but size up.

Happy Sewing!
Kelly