Twisted, a FO

A while back, I found a new to me pattern company.  Don't cha just love the internet?  Made by Oranges is a company based in the Netherlands, who publishes My Image, a semi-annual magazine with patterns for women. I have collected all of their issues over the past year or so.  Shipping from the Netherlands to Canada is relatively quick (about two weeks or so), and I haven't been any trouble with either the Canada Post or customs.  I've just resubscribed for the coming year, as well as purchased a subscription for B*Trendy, the children's pattern magazine they also publish.

The patterns in the magazines need to be traced the same as Burda Style magazine, which can be a bit confusing, but I highlight each pattern piece with a highlighter before tracing to make it less confusing.  I also place a bright work light directly over my work space when I'm tracing (and wear my reading glasses!).  The directions are just as brief as Burda magazines, but come in four languages. However, the lovely clothing with a touch of European flare make it totally worth all of this.  And, the glossy photographs of the clothes made in a number of different fabrics are well worth the purchase price.

This is my first Queen of the Dots SWAP piece.  Item #10 (Top #5) as noted in my previous post is My Image magazine #15, M1760 twist top in lightweight mustard heather jersey knit.  This fabric came from Fabricland (not sure if it was my local store or one I bought in a huge haul last October in Ottawa).  I've sewn this fabric up in other colourways previously, and it is lovely to wear, albeit a bit sheer.  I felt it would be perfect for the twist in this pattern.

I chose size 42 based on my measurements.  I made a 3/4" swayback adjustment, which is a standard adjustment for me, and graded the waist shaping out to accommodate my figure. I also added 1" to the length of the sleeves.

The challenging part of this pattern is obviously figuring out what the directions meant for the twisted part.  I was sewing in the evening after a taxing day, and it took me a few tries to figure out what the instructions meant, despite the drawings that are included for this pattern.  I did eventually figure it out by bringing the top over to the dress form and draping it this way and that. Once I got that figured out, I couldn't figure out how I was supposed to finish the portion of the top front and ripped a small hole during the stitching/unstitching/restitching process.  Fortunately, the hole was covered when I finally did figure out what I was supposed to do.  Next time, I'll add a bit of a wedge through this area to accommodate an FBA.

The body of the top ended up being quite long on me.  I cut off 2-1/2" from the length of the body.  I guess being able to cut off the length isn't a hardship, it's just an uncommon practice for me with my long legs and arms :p

I love the result.  I would love to make this top again, but as it is pretty distinctive, I won't make it again in this SWAP capsule.