Milly Vogue-illy


I like this top! It's lively, classic, retro yet simple and stylish!

The collar and pleated neckline together add some panache to a simple top. I would not pay nearly $200 for it, though.




Pattern Description
MISSES’/MISSES’ PETITE TOP: Pullover top has front pleats. A: short sleeves. B: pleated lower sleeve, casing and elastic sleeve finish. C: cut edge upper, middle and lower sleeve flounce.
NOTIONS: Top A, B, C: Hooks and Eyes. Also for B, C: 1/2" Single Fold Bias Tape. For B: 1 yd. of 3/4" Elastic.
FABRICS: Top A, B, C: Batiste, Broadcloth and Gauze. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals, plaids or stripes. Use nap yardages/layouts for pile, shaded or one-way design fabrics. *with nap. **without nap.


Size
6-8-10-12. I sewed a "12".

Favorite Features
*Sleeve variations as described
*Pleated front
*Nice contoured shaping on the sides
*Very easy to sew
*View A has four pattern pieces: front, back, collar (curved piece), and sleeve. You cannot get simpler than this for a short sleeved collar top!

Not-so-favorite Features
*The collar tended to drape a little more outward than the Milly top. The non-interfaced piece seemed to stretch after some handling (due to outer portion's curvature landing on the bias?), causing some drape, which does not appear that bad. My top looked more like the technical drawing on the directions page, which contradicted the seemingly flat collar on the pattern illustration.



*I don't like the open upper back center seam which puffs out due to having a slightly rounded upper back


Directions
They were fine for making the simplest view. You could actually rely on the illustrations to get the main idea.

Here is an outline of the steps I used for View A:

*I made certain I accurately marked the pleat lines and dots. For each pleat I folded the left to the right pleat line, so that each pair of dots (top and bottom)coincide and stitched on the line.

*I stitched the front and back sections, right sides together at the shoulders and the sides.

*I interfaced one collar piece (and added the extra step of stitching a narrow hem to finish its notched edge), and stitched it to the non-interfaced piece at the unnotched sides. This was clear from the illustration.

*I sewed the non-interfaced collar piece to the neckline, right sides together. Then I turned the interfaced collar piece to the inside and carefully slipstitched it to the neckline.

*I stitched a 5/8" from the lower edge of the blouse after I turned in the raw edge.

*I set-in the sleeves using the pin, hand-baste and machine stitch method.


Modifications
* Used two buttons/buttonholes instead hooks and eyes.

Second version
* I closed the open upper back, continuing the center seam from the lower back (but taking in an additional 1/4" ) and kept the collar open in the back. I was still able to get the top over my head.
* For my second version I used a sloping shoulder adjustment similar to Dawn Cloake's tutorial. As a result, the shoulders narrowed and I obtained a tad more snug fit on my upper chest and upper back. This adjustment would be ideal for me when making a sleeveless version of this top. For the short sleeved version, I should have increased the width of the shoulders to compensate for my adjustment of taking 1/2" from the edge, tapering to 0" at the neckline.

I find that I usually do not need to adjust for Burda patterns, where the front is sloped more than the back, bypassing forward shoulder adjustments. Maybe the forward shoulder adjustment is what I need for certain patterns. I need more experimenting with this issue.


Conclusion
I highly recommend this pattern for its versatility, simplicity, and stylish details. It's also an ideal pattern for beginners and working on fitting issues.

The total sewing time without interruptions would be for me two and half hours. Speedy and accurate sewists would probably take much less!


Will post pics of my versions soon....