SBCC Mimosa

I sewed 4 items during my mini sewcation ... a SBCC Tonic tee, a pretty well sewn (vs. down and dirty since I was also testing construction) muslin for the SBCC Mimosa top, the final Mimosa, and a slightly modified Magic Pencil to wear with the Mimosa. My sewing plans are always grander than reality, but I'm good with 4 items over 5 days, especially considering I didn't spend every waking hour in the sewing room. The mojo is still whispering to me, so maybe I can pick back up mid-week when I'm off from work again for New Year's Day.

Here's the final Mimosa with the Magic Pencil. The Mimosa is from a black/taupe crepe print from deep in the stash, which I thought was synthetic but after pressing the heck out of it without any heat damage, I'm reconsidering and may do a burn test on scraps just to quiet my curiosity. The Magic Pencil is from a putty colored doubleknit purchased from Lucy's Fabrics years ago. I miss that shop. (I added a bottom band instead of a turn-up hem, which is the slight modification.) I also have a short-sleeved jacket from this same fabric so I guess I have an actual suit now too.

I really like this top. It's easy to sew, feminine, flattering, and comfortable to wear. Especially after too many holiday treats. ;-) The pattern is a winner, both for style and drafting. The only alterations I made were to move the bust dart down and to fiddle with the shoulder seam in the raglan sleeve to fit my square shoulders. Even with what I thought was an adequate pattern adjustment from the muslin, I still ended up with a poof at the shoulder and so I just sewed the poof out in the real fabric and will adjust my pattern to match, hopefully tomorrow night while it's still fresh in my mind the pattern is still laying on the floor. Oh, I also added about 1-1/2" to the bottom length and kept it. I wanted this top a little longer in case I want to belt it.

There's not a lot of waist shaping in the pattern, but with a drapey fabric such as this, it still hangs nicely. In fabric with more body, I might want to add back waist darts or curve the sideseams inward. Either of those is easy to do as a final step, so I won't alter the pattern.

What drew me to the Mimosa was the tie coming from the raglan seams. And then I went and chose a fabric that completely obliterated this design feature. If I had been more forward thinking (i.e., before I had sewn, trimmed, and turned), I would've piped the ties. Instead, I used narrow purchased bias tubing from the stash. And now the ties are visible again.

I used purchased black bias binding for the back neckline and sewed on the front facing last and different from the pattern instructions, so that the front raglan seams and bias are caught in the facing and covered. Hard to explain, but a little cleaner finish this way. Although a slightly bulkier finish too, so I'm still undecided on what I'll do next time. And, yes, there will be a next time. I really like this top!

I'll share the minimal alterations on my pattern pieces next time.