On Trend for 1997: New Look 6149

Mixed lace and knit pullovers are apparently very "on trend" just now. Generally I prefer to stay "off trend" if at all possible--and very successful I am at it, too. In this case, however, I suppose some combination of looking at Pinterest, reading sewing blogs and substitute teaching at the middle school has planted the notion of lacy casual clothes firmly in my mind.

Also popular at the moment are raglan sleeves (a no-no for the narrow of shoulder, but what the heck). Raglan sleeve patterns are thin on the ground in my pattern cabinet, but here's an out-of-print New Look pattern from the 90's, 6149.

The wrap top in this pattern has gotten most of the attention on Pattern Review, but I didn't have enough fabric for it. From the three yards of this heathered orange 60" wide rayon-wool knit I had ordered from FabricMart, there was an irregularly-shaped approximately yard-sized piece left over after making up a sweater dress (yet to be photographed). I wanted to use the scraps from the dress project while the serger was still threaded in orange, which is not a daily occurrence.

The sleeve is cut in two pieces, and perhaps this helps it follow the curve of the shoulder and arm better than a one-piece sleeve would do.

The mesh dot knit lace also came from FabricMart in a different order. Interesting what a good match the two fabrics turned out to be. The front panel was cut from the solid knit and the mesh knit. The mesh layer was basted on top of the solid and the two fabrics were thereafter handled as one.

Lots of people delight in eliminating facings from their garments whenever possible, but I am not in their camp. I used the facing pieces included with the pattern because I wanted a clean, well-supported edge that would not require topstitching. Because the front panel has two layers, I slipstitched the facing in place by hand at the bottom of the V portion to the lower layer. The facing was also tacked in place at the shoulder and neck seam allowances. Now there is no possibility of it moving around or flipping out at all.

I cut a size 8 for the sleeves and for the neck and upper chest pieces of the shirt. Below the armhole I tapered out to a size 12. I shortened all the pieces 1/2" at the middle of the armscye, and I'm glad I did. Otherwise the batwing effect would have been more exaggerated, and the V would have been too low. Instead of a turned up hem, I used a two-inch band at the lower edge of the top and the sleeves, in imitation of the finishing on the mixed-media lace tops I saw on Pinterest.

It will be interesting to see how much I wear this top. It feels very slouchy and comfortable, and I think the orange color suits me better than a more typical sweatshirt color scheme would.