First of all, I am overjoyed that Anita – my blog partner – has found the inspiration to  come back. I am so eager to read her review about  her new sewing machine and see her share more of the lovely projects she is working on.

Oh, I know this is long overdue –  I finished my top weeks ago – but it took me forever to take some pictures and actually sit down and write the post.

Another great pattern from Lolita Patterns, Gunmetal is simple yet really creates an impact.  It comes in two versions: a top and a dress. I made the top.

I loved making it. And, as usual, Amity made the instructions clear and easy to follow.

However, as you  can expect, at a certain point I took matters into my own hands and started doing my own thing, again.  So, instead of making the ruffles  out of lace, I cheated and bought some ready-made ribbon gathers.  I just wanted to make it faster!

I chose to use black jersey and red lace.  Initially, I wanted to go for a  red base and black overlay, but lovely Leila from Three Dresses Project, who is doing the sew-alongs for Lolita Patterns (the one for Gunmetal is  here), already made one, and I didn’t want to copy her; so, I played around with the colours. Well, not really, I just switched them around.

If you click on the picture, you’ll be taken to  Leila’s blog post about her experience with  the top. Isn’t it amazing? No way could I have competed with hers.  She also has a version with long sleeves (which means I’ve got to buy  Sewaholic’s Renfrew pattern now – oops, more shopping! ) There is no way I can reduce the amount of patterns or fabric I buy. I always see something that I absolutely must have! Oh well, I should know this by now.

Anyway, back to the top: the original pattern has buttons or D-rings with ribbon. I chose not to use any of them. Not because it wouldn’t be really cool to have them on, but  I thought it would be a bit too much for me. I skipped the lining as well; I felt that, for a short-sleeved top,  the lining would make it too bulky.

As soon as I had a top, I had to try it on, even if it wasn’t finished. I still needed the sleeves, but I just wanted to  see how it fit. Trying it on, I felt  that the front was a bit low. In fairness, it would be about an inch higher (as seen on Leila’s picture)  if I ‘d have used the lace gathers as the pattern suggested. But I was too lazy! Or rather I was afraid to attempt a rolled hem to do it and I didn’t get enough trim to cover the neckline.

I used my twin needles to do the hems. They aren’t perfect, but I did find out that my Toyota Jeans is very good with knits. (Well, I also used the walking foot on my sewing machine – that helps a lot as both layers are pulled through together.) I used some knit stay tape too, which you can see on some pictures on the edge of the neckline.

I did have some near-misses. On the bottom right image, you  can see that I sewed together two panels but the bottom layer moved and I almost missed it by the end. And I know from my own experience how difficult it is to unpick the stretch stitch – I’ve only done it twice in my sewing life and wish to no more! I’d rather start again.

Anyhow, I love my top, even if the front neckline is a bit too low for my liking. But hey, I bet some hunks out there like that . I have already decided another one is in order – I might even try the dress-version – but I do intend to make some changes, such as:

• Reduce the pattern between the shoulders and bust (which I normally do on other patterns)
• Use the D-rings
• Invest in some bathing-suit lining and line my next one (the inside of this one is a mess, not that anyone can see it)