I'm Sewing Down to Liverpool

My Beatles' holiday ornament





Before their Manic Mondays




My first version

Last month, Heather and I took our first official trip to a yard sale (this is the first time I personally visited one). After quickly sifting through several boxes of patterns on the lady's kitchen table and in her living room (she was very kind to welcome us to her home), we found altogether 10 patterns. This was the first pattern that caught my eye.



Pattern Description
"Super simple* (tm) blouse. In Misses' sizes, has side seams, raglan sleeves in towlengths and elastic clasings at neck and sleeves. "


Size
Small size 8-10, bust 31 1/2"-32 1/2". waist 23"-24". The first version ended up being really fitted and narrow on the shoulders. I made a few changes for my second version.

Fabric
First version in quilting cotton from Wal Mart.



Second version in "The Beatles" printed cotton from Fabrics.com


Directions
They were very user friendly with numbered step-by-step directions in a checklist format, larger print for easier readablity, and understandable illustrations in eyecatching orange and brown for emphasis (so retro...), making it ideal for beginning sewists.


Directions, page 1


Directions, page 2

The general steps
*Sew sleeves onto the fronts and back

*Sew the left and right sleeve and side seams, each as one continuous seam

*Sew the casings at the neckline and at the lower edges of the sleeves, leaving openings to insert the elastic

*Insert the elastic at the neckline casing and the sleeve casings. Stitch all casings closed.

*Stitch the lower hem


Favorite Features
* Gathered neckline
* Raglan sleeves
* Two pieces to work with (one for the front and back and one for the sleeves)
* Very easy to sew, being one step above a basic pillowcase.

Not-so Favrorite Features
* Puffy back. I anticpated something odd to occur since one pattern piece is used for both the front and back. But I did not want to deal with complex fitting issues with a "super simple" top. I used a tie (made from the same fabric) to pull the look together.


Modifications
*My usual inch petite adjustment between the waist and hips.

*For the second version, I folded the front/back pattern piece in half and placed the piece 1" from the center fold of the fabric which resulted in 2" added to the center front. I placed the piece 1/2" from the center fold for the back piece and later realized, I probably did not have to make that adjustment. I like the less restrictive feel at the neckline after inserting the elastic in the neckline casing. However, I noticed I had a tad more ease than I expected at my waist and hips. Belt cinching comes in handy.

*I sewed French seams

*I added 1" to the length of the elastic for the neckline casing as specified on the piece for the elastic casing guide

Conclusion
I definitely recommend this pattern for beginning sewists. This is also one pattern due to its classic style and wonderful instructions that Simplicity can include in a "retro re-issue" series. I am surprised that current patterns labeled "very easy" are really more for advanced beginners and beyond.

Sew-Berry Fields Forever...
I had fun wearing this to work yesterday. I have five class periods of Formal Geometry (remember logical argument and proofs?). I taught three periods on block schedule yesterday. The biggest surprise was from the class with my most challenging (or my hard-to-teach Period 5) students, especially with our polarizing musical tastes. Many from that class thought my top was "cool". They tried their best on a midterm administered by our school district that Friday. Interesting that they were not as antsy as I expected on a Friday before our fall two-week intersession break (no intersession classes due to the budget). I was amused by one student who made the first compliment on my shirt and admitted that he loves the Beatles. He also said my shirt was too distracting because when he sees it some Beatle song starts playing in his mind. Fashion sometimes speaks louder or in this case, sings louder than words...