Cropped and Chopped

 

Something new for me!  

I wasn't willing to give up on this one though I'm kind of on the fence about it now.  I royally screwed up when I was cutting out the fabric.  Really.  Actually, I royally screwed it up several times during the making of.  This is a light weight, super soft cotton voile that I ordered online.  It was one of those last minute purchases to fill up the shopping cart for free shipping (curse you, fabric.com!).   I was pleasantly surprised when I received the fabric.  The print is so large scale that the picture online only showed a small portion and I was psyched about the funky print.   I wanted to use a pattern that would showcase the print. 

  

I planned to make Simplicity 2245, the longer version with pockets.  This is obviously not what I ended up with.  I stared at the print on this fabric for several days, formulating a plan in my head of how to cut it.  It's a bit intimidating to cut a fabric like this.  I was a tiny bit short but I can usually squeeze patterns out with a bit less, so I totally ignored the fact that you need more fabric to deal with large prints.    I figured I had it all sorted and cut everything out.  Totally messed it all up.  I scrambled to use the leftover pieces to save the top.  The back pieces and center front pieces were fine, but the side front pieces weren't.  I tried to angle the print in because I was a little short on fabric and somehow I cut the pieces so the print was going the same direction. Ugh.   

 

I decided to piece it to try and make it work.  I treated the top piece as if it was a yoke and then I added a piece on the bottom that I was sure would be hidden within the pocket.  It wasn't.   It just didn't look right, especially on.  The voile is too light weight and it was really clingy at the bottom.  So I chopped it all off.

I should have just made the shorter version to begin with.  It would have saved me from the "creative" cutting job I tried to maneuver.  The cropped length was a little too short so I added on the border at the hem.  The polka dot fabric is heavier than the voile and it helps weigh it down a bit.  My favorite part is the pink and white striped button at the back.  The neck ended up being really wide so I closed up the back opening and just put the button and loop on the neck band.

 

 

Quite the ordeal for a top that should have been super quick.   Lesson learned that large scale prints take more fabric, not less.  That's just the way it is sometimes.  I'm on the fence about it because of all the piecing.  Does it look too patchwork-y, if you know what I mean?  Not that patchwork is always a bad thing.

I really like the pattern.  I do want to make the tunic version but next time I'll use a fabric that's a little more forgiving.  Hope everyone has a great week!