After having made two Kwik Sew 3891 Batwing tops that I *love*, I remembered that I made this batwing-like top over the summer, hoping to look like the lovely lady on the pattern envelope, casually posing with her bicycle.
This is McCalls 6704. There are 3 variations of this top, all of which are basically a tank top with a sheer batwing or poncho-like overlay. I specifically purchased a sheer from Colorado Fabrics for this top. And now that I’ve worked with a few sheers, I’m realizing that the better quality sheers (such as those purchased from Colorado Fabrics) don’t fall apart as easily as some of the “value” sheers I’ve purchased in the past. I need to remember this.
Even with this better fabric, hemming the overlay was still difficult. But I managed to hem the fabric without having to resort to overlocking it first. It made a nicer hem than I’m used to. Stitching the neckband onto the overlay and the tank top was also somewhat difficult with the slippery sheer. I hand stitched the neckband down instead of machine stitching it. I felt I had better control over the outcome doing it this way.
The tank top underneath was made with some stretchy polyester I had in my stash.
Overall, the top is really lovely! The neckline is really way too low for me, but it works great over a turtleneck. I may wear this top during the hot months in a casual environment and more often in the colder months with the turtleneck.
Denver Sewing Collective 
I’m always amazed at the shoulder widths of these patterns. Maybe I just admit that I’m very narrow. My body dis-morphia is raising it’s ugly misshaped head again.
LikeLike
The top is lovely. I love these colors on you.
Could you cut a smaller size to try to fix the scoop neck or just redraft it?
Also, have you seen this tutorial on hemming sheers/chiffons on Pinterest? There may be some helpful tips. (Don’t know how well it works.) I haven’t sewn many sheers but if I have a ravelery fabric I use a fusible hem tape and then flip the hem up again and sew. (Sorry, I can’t find the name or a link.)
PS I think the KS 3489 would look great on you.
LikeLike
OK … I must have bought it at Walmart not Joanns. I use Pellon EZ Steam II Tape. It’s 1/4″ wide and “it has a pressure sensitive adhesive on each side to temporarily hold both materials in place while you reposition to desired final placement before fusing.” Then I sew the hem in place.
LikeLike
Okay, that makes sense! Cute, I like that idea. I was confused because of the black pants and black t neck.
Hey, I found this fabric print, below. I think it would be good for that KS 3489 dress. Let’s all make one and compare the variations on each of our body types. I want more throw-on summer dresses that work with heals, flip flops, tennies, flats, etc. French style, you wear the dress, not the dress wearing you. So hard to find prints to wear here in a wrap dress that don’t make it too dressy to wear to the grocery store.
I think this one works: http://www.gorgeousfabrics.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=20211
That site has a purple stripe for you http://www.gorgeousfabrics.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=17484 that you can make to look like this: http://www.mimigstyle.com/2013/01/ootd-diy-striped-wrap-dress-pattern.html#.UO8YKKWkWxI Did you see that that blog has a coupon for that fabric site?
How would it work to sew the stripes on the bias for that dress? I think it may drape better in the back for me.
LikeLike
On the bias would be interesting. Difficult?
LikeLike
In that 2nd photo, I was trying to show that there is an attached shirt under the top flouncy layer. Its dark blue. And that scoop neck is *way* too big for me! So I’ll probably keep wearing the top over my turtleneck. As for the KS3489 pattern, I’ll give it a go! Bring it by next time, if you happen to remember. I have the perfect fabric for it in my stash.
LikeLike
Purple is a great color for you! What’s going on in the second pic? I thought that front and back were same length, but is the shirt in that second pic turned around? (OOOOH LAH LAH, good thing you have that tneck on!)
Your reference to the Kwik Sew top got me looking at it and other KS patterns. Did you ever try this dress Kwik Sew 3489, since you mentioned dresses before: http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/topsearch.pl ? You are quite prolific, I assume so! It would look so great on your figure. The comment say that it runs big, so you could probably do an xs. That’s the tricky part with knit dresses, I think. They do need to be SMALL enough to hang right and be flattering. I think the rule is go down one size, right? I wonder if the neck lies flat if you did sew it. (I did a non-DVF wrap dress once and the issue spot was the neckline laying flat.)
I would like to see the KS shirt you did. Did you do the version with the elastic gathering in the front and back or the other one?
LOL, I just checked my stash of sewing patterns, and I actually own that dress pattern, but never used it. I thought it looked familiar. Want to borrow it? lol Let’s see how it sews up.
LikeLike