Selfish Sewing Knit Top – Stitch Savvy Book Review

As the weather warms up, I pulled out some of my old faithful knit tops from the drawer. Time to bring out the spring/summer Mum uniform.

But something was wrong.

All my favourites looked stretched and saggy. Oh no! I’ve worn them to death. And I can’t face heading to the shops in search of the perfect knit top. It’s too hard. I hate trying on clothes. Don’t make me do it!

Lucky I have a fabric stash and collection of sewing patterns and books. I remembered a knit top pattern in the book Stitch Savvy (affiliate link) by Deborah Moebes (from Whipstitch).

Time to raid my fabric stash. There were 1.5 yards of a jersey ITY fabric that I bought from Fabric.com a while ago (actually, I think it might have been a few years!). I didn’t know what ITY was when I bought it (it’s a lightweight, slinky polyester knit), and the print was a bit brighter than I expected. Just right for a wearable muslin – if I don’t like how it turns out, I’m not too fussed.

The book comes with a CD with printable pattern pieces. Man, I hate cutting and taping patterns together – I hope this pattern is worth it!

It always takes me a few days from choosing a pattern to actually cut the fabric and start sewing, but once I start, there’s no stopping me. As I sewed, I worried how this top would turn out. There was no size information – so I guessed I’d be a medium. I couldn’t find what the seam allowance was. The top has a raglan sleeve, but the construction was different to what I’m used to – sewing the side seams first before the raglan section. The instructions referred to dots and notches that didn’t exist on the pattern. Some of the instructions weren’t very clear. Was I wasting my time?

But I continued on. And when I finished, wow!

I love this top!

I was impressed that the print lines up at the side seams (as best I could with a chevron print). Although I cut the sleeve fabric upside down relative to the main section, the dominant black and cream chevron lines up too – a total fluke!

The gathers aren’t perfect around the bust, which makes the fabric sit funny on one side. Aside from that, it’s perfect. I love the tapering at the waist, the 3/4 sleeve. The fabric is light and breezy. It’s just a “me” kind of top!

I sewed most of it with my overlocker (serger), just using my normal sewing machine for topstitching, gathering and hemming. I used a fancy stitch for the hems (since I couldn’t be bothered with a twin needle). The stitch has a lot of stretch, so hopefully I won’t pop the stitches.

Stitch Savvy has 5 sections with projects of increasing difficulty. This top was Level 1 in the Clothing section, which I don’t think is right. The A-line skirt would be much easier to sew. It would be a frustrating and difficult project for someone just building their sewing skills. It was just enough of a challenge for me.

Now I’ve got a new knit top to add to my Mum uniform. And it looks like I’ll be making a few more!

Narelle (Threadistry) (30 Posts)

Narelle is a former engineer turned Mum and housewife. She loves to craft, with sewing being her favourite. She shares her love of sewing at http://Threadistry.com