I’ve managed to finish my latest Minerva Pippa top using Minerva Exclusive Botanic Bliss Viscose Jersey Stretch Knit.
As I mentioned in my previous post I had to use the fabric with the stretch the wrong way in order to handle the border which runs along the selvage. Using the fabric this way meant that:
* I needed more fabric than stated on the pattern, in order to get the pattern placement I wanted, I needed 3 metres rather than the 2.3 required for my size.
* The pattern repeat of the border is a large 88cm so regardless of basecloth this needs to be considered when calculating the fabric required for any project.
* There is a little more stretch in the width 80% as opposed to 60% but it’s still sufficient to deal with the negative ease required by this pattern
* I couldn’t pattern match as it would have been really wasteful but I did try to balance the print as best I could.
* In order to make the most of the border I wanted to use the top of the print on the bodice but also utilise the bottom of the print so I made the frill a little longer in order to see a bit of the floral as well as the black/forest green border.
* My previous posts shows how I use greaseproof paper to trace off the pattern and place it on the print in order to see which part of the print I wanted where.
* The base colour of this fabric which is at the top of the border I would class as a very pale eau de nil, which is very pretty and I think stands out more in the finished garment than it did on the flat cloth
Other things about this fabric:
* As others have mentioned base cloth used for print on demand, does feel a little different to the original Minerva viscose jersey, it feels a little lighter in weight but much more silky so it still has a wonderful drape
* I used a stretch ballpoint needle so not to get skip stitches and it pushes through the knit rather than piercing the fibres which can cause holes/laddering
* Cutting out, the selvedge isn’t flat, the stretch means that it curls and pulls up, so before placing on the pattern I did cut off both selvage’s
The pattern
The bodice is close fitting hence the negative ease, but with a gathered skirt and additional frill giving it plenty of room around the waist and the hips making it an easy wear.
With the stretch of the fabric, although the bodice has a buttoned front there isn’t a need to undo the buttons so I made life a little easier for myself. Although I did sew the button holes I did them purely for design and didn’t cut the holes, just sewed the bodice together by matching the centre fronts in place then sewing the buttons on top of the button holes. The only reason for doing this was button holes in jersey can have a tendency to stretch a bit and I didn’t want the buttons to come undone at an inappropriate moment!
Loving the 3/4 length sleeve of this pattern however the stretch on the shoulders does mean that the puff keeps falling beyond my shoulder point so on reflection I should have added a bit of stay tape on the shoulders does mean seams, I will see if I can add a bit now, but luckily it is a relaxed top not a structured one so it’s not the end of the world.
Definitely a good pattern to move through spring to summer
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