A New Top

I have had this fabric in my stash for about a year. It is a swim suit knit that I purchased from the clearance table at Hancock's. I was never planning to make a swim suit from it. I have been in the mood to make knit shirts for a while now. This kind of knit is so easy to sew and knit tops are usually a very quick project to complete. I used Simplicity 2852. This pattern has six views. But really just two basic necklines with various sleeves and hem lengths. I used view C without the elastic at the hem.

This top was so easy and quick. I started cutting it out at 3:00pm and finished in time for a date I had at 6:00pm. That is my kind of project. I used my serger along with my regular sewing machine. Actually you don't really need a serger for most knits especially these real stable knits. You just have to know when to stretch and when to let the fabric relax while sewing. You should stretch a bit while sewing the side seams but the shoulder seams need a piece of twill tape to stabilize and keep it from stretching. For the hem I just did a top stitched hem on my sewing machine. The hem is another place where you don't want to stretch to much but just let the fabric feed trough the machine at a normal pace. However this knit springs back quickly. It was very hot when I wore this top but I was very comfortable in this lose fitting top.