When it comes to fabric shopping I can be my own worst enemy. Last year, I was in a frugal mood. Unfortunately, this didn’t keep me from buying fabric – – it only kept me from purchasing enough. So, I found myself short by a half a yard on several projects. Now, in 2018, I seem to have over-corrected. Now, I have more than my fair share of one yard remnants, leftovers from large purchases of knits that were way too much for the dresses I made recently. What to do? Sew a few knit tops, of course.
Enter Vogue 9301, a semi-fitted knit top designed by Kayla Kennington.
Who is Kayla, anyway? If you read Threads magazine, you’ve likely heard of her. She’s a designer who’s written articles for them and her creations are gorgeous – so artistic and amazing. She can take the leftovers from her various projects and turn them into something special. If you haven’t visited her website, do. It’s a treat! Vogue 9301 is such a perfect example of her style, a semifitted top that you can mix and match fabrics and embellish as you wish.
My first version was really simple, because I needed to see how the top would fit me. I’m small, so sometimes unstructured tunics can really be overwhelming on me. To test the pattern, I used a piece of fabric that’s been in my stash for so long, it has a faded streak in the back. I’m 5′ 4″ yet, this pattern is almost as long as a dress on me…a great length with leggings.
Even without contrast fabric, this pattern has a great shape and style. I loved the asymmetry of the hem line and the hem band – I couldn’t wait to play around with contrast fabric. To make the top a bit shorter, I shortened both the front and back bodice at the waist line by 5/8″. This made the fit much better I think for my height.
For this version, I used remnants from this dress, and had some fun playing around with stripe placement. The wide band at the hemline requires alot of fabric (I had very little) and it must be in one piece, so it was a struggle to get it from the leftover fabric I had. Luckily, I made it, but it would have been fun to have cut that band so that the stripes were at a diagonal to the bodice, but that’s what happens when you’re using remnants – options are limited! I think this version is casual and fun – – the sort of top I throw on over jeans to hang out in.
Version Three: I just had to go all the way, and add in the flaps too!
I used contrast fabric remnants for the sleeves and the optional flaps. The wide hem band is a second contrast fabric and the sleeve bands are cut perpendicular to the grain.
Vogue 9301 is a fun sew and pretty fast too, each version took me about two hours. It’s a great remnant stash buster, and a nice palate cleanser after my coat. I can imagine using this pattern again.
These tops will make Me-Made-May easier to pull off this year! Are you participating? I’m joining in and will post some of my days on Instagram. I do find the exercise of wearing me-mades every day to be revealing. It’s interesting to see which makes you reach for again and again, and which you ignore! I’ll be sharing my findings here.
Remnant busting is so satisfying – would love to hear what you do with yours. Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!
I made this knit dress for a trip we just took to Santa Fe, but there was snow on the ground when we arrived so this dress never made it out of the suitcase, LOL! Still, I love wearing knit dresses, so I know this dress will have its day.
