Monday, April 30, 2007

McCall 4716 with twist drape

4/30/07 8:08 PM
Last Updated:4/30/07 8:10 PM
Pattern Size:Regular
Project Photo:photo
Pattern Photo:

Pattern Information provided by Ann Smith

Pattern Rating:Easy to sew

On a trip recently I saw a top in a shop window that was different from any I had seen. It looked super easy to recreate so here it is. The top was a simple tank with an added collar that draped from one shoulder, around the front neck twisting and continuing around the back neck. It was gathered into the shoulder seam and not attached anywhere across the front. It was stitched to part of the back neckline and then draped under the front shoulder where it started.

I neglected to make note as to how wide the collar/drape piece was so I draped some of my fabric to experiment. My fabric is a rayon/cotton jersey that is pretty beefy. This was a remnant so I was limited to a sleeveless garment. I cut a piece 16 inches wide and as long as my remnant allowed. I finished the long edges and gathered one end.

I stitched the gathered end into the left shoulder. Immediately I could tell that this would be quite different from the garment I had seen in the store window primarily because of the thickness of my fabric. My drape piece may have been wider but it definitely is thicker. It was almost too much to gather into the shoulder. I liked the look of the drape though so I kept the width. But when I brought the drape around to tuck into the neckline it was very cumbersome. Also, I needed to attach the drape in a few more places than on the original to keep the drape reasonably in place.

As you can see I decided to leave the extra length on the end of the drape. I tucked it under the neckline and stitched but let the end drape out of the arm opening. The back collar twists and drapes also.

I used McCall's 4716 only for the basic tank and neckline shape. I did not use the collar/drape included with the pattern. If I were to try this again I would use a thinner jersey and a slightly narrower drape piece.

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