Butterick 5046: It's a Top/Smock/Success

The good news: this pattern turned out very cute.

The bad news: it is now out of print. But still available on Butterick's website.

 I don't know what to call it. If I make the dress version, that will be more straightforward. Butterick says: "Front wrap top or dress has inset at waist." Since I prefer it over another shirt, is it a vest? Or a smock? Or a tabard?

Sleeveless, not as cute on me. Yes, I really am that pale.

Shockingly few alterations were required. I made the size 8, grading to 10 at the waist. Only one piece required any tweaking, and it got a lot, in terms of inches.

This represents a 1 1/4" swayback adjustment (this much height was removed at the center back of the waistline seam). Then the same amount was added back at the hem. As has happened to me before, this addition caused the center back hem to be slightly too long. I am thinking that my new rule should be to add back to the hem half the removed amount from the waistline. I also slashed and spread the pattern piece 1", adding a total of 2" of fanny room to the back skirt. I think this must have been a good amount, because the skirt does not ride up at all.

I hate that unintended vertical repeat of the pattern in the waistband and skirt, but the fit of the back is great (I will focus on the positive!).

Gaping has been a problem for me with both crossover tops and sleeveless garments in the past, but not so much here. I can't really explain why, but I am happy about it. Another problem I usually have is too much width in the shoulder area. I measured the pattern and determined that this one was the right width. Thank you, pattern designer.

Construction was straightforward, but I did have a little trouble adding the bias binding to the armhole and turning it to the inside. This must be a sign that the armhole is very curved, which might account for the lack of gaping I mentioned.

If one wanted to use bias binding on the front and neck edges, that would work well too. I used the facing pieces provided with the pattern because I wanted to use a bit of self-made bias trim that was too narrow to actually wrap the edges. I only had enough to sew it into the facing seam with a scant 1/8" seam allowance. It's cute though.

The fabric is Fortune in Chocolate from Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks collection. I've had this piece for long enough to imagine it as lots of different things. Even though it was purchased with the notion that it would become a piece of clothing for me, I had my doubts about its suitability for a 43-year-old woman. But I'm happy to suppress those, because it's such a happy print, and I love the Eastern European feel of it.