‘Monkey top’ is our household name for a raglan two-tone t-shirt. A long time ago, Alb had a top that had dark brown sleeves and a light brown body. I joked that it made him look like a monkey, since that seems to be the standard cartoon colouration of a monkey – brown arms and light brown body. All joking aside, he has pretty good shoulders (read: pointier than a knife) so it’s a style he prefers. I like it too, but it is really hard for it to look good on a woman. My shoulders are nothing more than where my arm meets my body and a raglan sleeve does nothing to enhance that. I really wanted a two-tone top to match my green Moss skirt and the more I thought about it, the more I realised that the style needed to be raglan. What to do?
For a start, once I went searching I realised the dearth of good raglan patterns out there for women. I found this Burda pattern for raglan tops with a nice array of options but eventually I came to the conclusion that it’s more respectable-woman-with-shoulders than clinging-to-my-teens which, to be blunt with myself, is more the look I’m after.
It made sense, then, that I found the perfect pattern in what is essentially a tweens pattern. Browsing the Girl Charlee site (very popular for knit fabrics but based in the US so I don’t bother ordering what with customs etc etc), I found that they have a large pattern selection, most of which are downloadable. I dithered for weeks over the Curved Patrick Raglan but eventually bought it.
What I did was cut the largest girls size for the top part and largest boys size for the chest and length. After some thought, I added an extra 1/4″ to each seam for the body, increasing the finished width from 34″ to 35″. I adapted the sleeves, which comes in two pieces – short sleeve with additional ‘undersleeve’ extra, and just joined the undersleeve to the short sleeve. To this, I added an extra 1.5″ because I have long arms. I cut the largest girls size for the whole sleeve but if (probably when) I make it again, I’ll use the largest boys size for the width.
I was skeptical about the neckband but it turned out great. On the whole, it’s a good pattern. It’s a little pricey but considering that if you have kids, you do get a lot of sizes. I’m assuming most people buying it are not hijacking the largest kid’s size for themselves.
I should have said, the fabric is from Land of Oh Etsy shop. They’re based in Korea. Reasonable prices, fast shipping, highly recommended. I used their cotton interlock which is soft but not too stretchy.
So, the see through. I’ve been working on a silk chiffon top. I used Deer & Doe’s Blouse Airelle as my base, turning the V-neck into a round one and adding a big long neck scarf to tie into a bow. Sounds good, right?
It is completely transparent. I mean, it’s lovely and the scarf-bow thing is really snug, but I might as well be wearing an invisible blouse. Usually I just wear a tank top or vest under these kind of things but I feel very undressed in this. It never occurred to me to underline it as I did not think it was quite so sheer. I’ve been thinking about it all morning and my conclusion is that I should underline it. Thankfully, I sewed on that whole scarf bit by hand, so it will be easy to unpick and resew without damaging the fabric. In such a situation, I’m tempted to think, God, I should have just bought the one I saw in Dunnes… but I know that in the end, this will be nicer and last much, much longer. I found the crinkle silk chiffon in Hickey’s Henry St and they still have some if you, too, want to embark on a three month long, french seamed, invisible elephant.
Lastly, I need your opinion, people. I want to make a winter coat. A basic, every-day coat. I’ve never made a coat before so I just want to keep it simple. My musts are: navy, plaid lining, outside and inside pockets, knee length. No need for a hood. I acquired the most amazing navy wool melton (a really tightly-woven wool, more like a felt, traditionally used for sailor’s jackets!) and a matching navy/white plaid cotton to line it with. My first thoughts were to make a duffle coat but now I’m considering the Veste Pavot from Deer & Doe. I think a duffle would be great if I tended towards regular rambles through undergrowth or seaside adventures, not to mention satisfying my inner Enid Blyton. However considering that the main things I do are cycle to various works, cycle to town, walk about in town, walk about in supermarket, maybe something smarter would be a better use of my fabulous melton. Thoughts?