I adored the gathered back of this casual top, so I decided to use this pattern as my first venture into knits! I was going to make a solid top, but Peter suggested a stripe knit we saw at H&M Fabrics. While his outfit choice Saturday was questionable, his fabric intuition wasn't: I love how this turned out!
I made View B, but ended up taking over 4 inches off the length: unaltered view B is crazy long! Like, beach cover-up or knee-length dress long. A Pattern Reviewer felt that the instructions were goofy: there is no discussion of serging and the facings are interfaced. As a novice knit sewer, I didn't notice any of this, and felt that the pattern overall was incredibly easy: the sleeves are kimono shaped instead of set-in, and the gathering was super-easy to do.
It wasn't lightning fast, as the sleeves are also gathered and finished at the bottom with a band - details that took some time to complete:
I'm mixed on sewing knits: I found it difficult to prep the knit before I cut it. It kept shifting and stretching on the mat. However, once I wrestled it down and began sewing, what a breeze. The material was easy to maneuver, and the lack of darts makes a project much faster.
Frankly, I don't wear really wear knits, so I don't think I'll sew with them often. Also, I think I'd like to spend my precious, limited sewing time creating dresses or skirts that are more expensive to buy than knits. But the overall ease does make sewing with knits very attractive...
