One Hour Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts

Free pattern download

I just finished sewing this One Hour Top by Fancy Tiger Crafts. I used a knit fabric that I bought in December from Girl Charlee as part of that months’ “KnitFix“. I received 6 two yard cuts of knit fabric and didn’t know what they looked like until they arrived at my doorstep. I’ve seen some amazing things made out of the different knits. I thought this easy top pattern would be a good choice to make a quick top.

Easy top

The pattern is a free download and is only two pieces – the front and the back. The two pieces are identical except for the front neckline dipping down lower. I made some ridiculous mistakes making this top and the first one was that I cut out two fronts instead of a front and a back. I had to cut them separately to line up the stripes and I guess I was thinking I would cut 2 backs and then cut out the scoop of the front neck, but suddenly I realized I had cut 2 fronts and had to decide what to do. I could just make it up using 2 fronts and the back would dip down too. However, in the end I decided I would just sew an extra piece of fabric to the back neck area (with careful matching of the fabric design) and no one would be the wiser (except for those of you reading this!)

See the lower line of white stitching? That’s where I matched and added fabric.

Knit fabric which doesn’t fray and this very busy print enabled me to get away with this.

The “One Hour” pattern gives instructions for folding over all of the raw edges to finish the top. It does not give directions for sewing on knit bands as I did at the neck and the sleeves. I really didn’t think that folding under the curved neckline and topstitching it down would look good. I was afraid of the stretching that might occur or losing the stretchiness of the fabric where I topstitched. I did not have any problem hemming the shirt this way however.

I found a wonderful suggestion for how to make knit bands that can be found in the directions here of another easy top that is a free download called the Hemlock Tee by Grainline. Making the bands can be tricky because the knit tends to roll at the edges and you have to fold these bands in half and keep the two edges flat and together while you sew them onto the top. This tutorial suggests that you cut the bands wider than needed and then mark a guide to the left of your serger needles/blade to run the folded edge along. By doing this you are cutting off the edges that may be curling and sewing the flat area together.

I used a strip of washi tape as a guide here. The left edge of the band is the fold and I am serving  two layers of fabric together on the right. 

This creates a nice even band. It helps to make it longer than you want too so that you can cut it to exact size afterwards as sometimes the fabric stretches as you start or finish the piece. If you are sewing this band on your garment in the “round”, you do have to unpick some stitches on either end in order to join the piece together.

Flat piece with unpicked stitches on both ends.

Now joined to make the cuff that will be sewn onto the sleeve.

I could have serged that “unpicked” area on this cuff, but I found that the fabric didn’t shift enough to bother with doing that and just sewed it on to the sleeve this way.

So what were the other ridiculous mistakes I made? Two things. 1) I paid attention to matching the stripes but I didn’t realize I should have been paying attention to centering the motifs on the fabric vertically too. At first glance you might not notice this, but if you really look, it is obvious that the design is not centered. 2) I obviously have a “front” and “back” problem because I sewed the seamline in the the neckband to the middle front of the top instead of the back!

Some of my followers wanted to see the other fabrics I received as part of the Girl Charlee KnitFix.  Here they are!

Girl Charlee KnitFix fabrics from December

What in the world am I going to do with all of these? I like the One Hour Top but not enough to make it again. It is quick but so completely shapeless that I need to try something else.