Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Replacement

A replacement has been chosen for Butterick 4991 and it is Butterick 5046. I've always liked Butterick patterns, can you tell?

I know that a lot has been written over at PatternReview about the drawbacks of purchasing a pattern on the basis of a fashion illustration. In my own defense, let me just say that I've actually seen this pattern made up; it was in last summer's edition of Sewing Today and it was really cute. I'll be making view D (with the sleeves) but I'll likely not use contrasting fabric for the sleeves and band. Choosing a print of any kind is fairly revolutionary for me, so unless I'm hijacked by some sort of coordinating fabric, I'll be sticking to just one print.

I had kind of told myself, after the terrible time I had fitting Simplicity 3837 (Review), that I wouldn't make any more garments with a wrapped or crossover bodice that also had a seam directly under the bust, but here I am again. Even though the Simplicity pattern was made from a knit, I'm hoping I can apply what I learned making that top to this top designed for woven fabric.

The fabric, like the pattern, comes from my small stash. It hasn't been stashed long, only since December, but I've been anxious to use it. The pattern, in fact, was purchased with this fabric in mind. I like the pattern/fabric pairing as I think that each enhances the vaguely Asian feel of the other. You can't tell from the photo, but the gray areas of the fabric are actually a silver metallic, which will mesh perfectly with the other fabrics chosen for the larger wardrobe capsule I have planned.

I think this top will be a nice addition to my mini-wardrobe and a much more realistic choice given the time frame.

ETA: Bunny asked about the fiber content of my fabric. It is 100% cotton. I believe it's actually intended as a quilting cotton.

5 comments:

Dana said...

Thanks for the nomination, and what I consider a flattering description of my site!

I'm with you on those "empire" waists. I tried making the top from Simplicity 4273 three times and didn't like the way any of them turned out. That darn LBP alteration! Good luck with the Butterick pattern it looks really cute. (I never realized that they only show drawings of their patterns.)

Dawn said...

Cute pattern. I remember seeing this in the magazine and I thought it was very cute then too. They did the sleeveless version I think, like the lower left drawing.

I'm a sucker for drawings of the model/patterns instead of actual pictures. Case in point, I love the way HotPatterns look. I have yet to try them.

Meg said...

Looking forward to seeing this made up. Yeah, pattern illustrations can be so deceiving....

Unknown said...

Paula - I love this pattern as well. I think the metallic gray in your fabric will look lovely with your beautiful hair. Look forward to seeing the end result.

Bunny said...

This should look wonderful in that print. What is the fiber? I agree with Charity. It should be very flattering with your silver hair.