Seamingly Smitten Fall 2014 Pattern Tour & Giveaway – Lace Front Knit Top

*I received a free pattern for the Lace Front Knit Top by Seamingly Smitten Sewing Patterns in exchange for providing a stop on the tour. All opinions are my own.

I am lucky enough to be the first stop on the Seamingly Smitten Sewing Patterns Fall 2014 Pattern tour. I had a lot of fun with this one; I chose to make the Lace Front Knit Top. I have a lot of fabric (by a lot I mean my fabric closet is overflowing) that I’ve found recently at thrift stores and online for rock bottom prices. The fabric I used for the top was only $.98. That’s right; I made a shirt for ninety-eight cents. The pink knit I used was fifty cents, and the lace was forty-eight cents. Crazy, right? Of course, I had to purchase thread to match the pink knit, but that will be used in other projects in the future as well.

What I loved most about this pattern was that it was so easy. Even though I had to take baby-tending breaks, the shirt itself took about 20 minutes to stitch. The hem took a bit longer. I made the size XL based upon my measurements.

Printing out and taping together the pattern took a bit longer than I’d hoped, but I think that’s because I’m hopelessly neurotic when it comes to matching PDF patterns up. I made a couple of adjustments when cutting the pattern – I added an inch to the length because I prefer my shirts a bit longer (I have a Momma pouch which provided a very loving and safe home for two incredibly precious people), and I didn’t cut across the cut line for the top. That is because I decided to use a scallop-edge lace for the top instead of the straight edge in the picture.

Then, I made my first mistake.

Yup, those things happen. Shhh…I totally forgot to pre-wash my fabric. I have no idea what will happen to my gorgeous shirt when I wash it. I was so excited about getting started cutting things out…that I totally spaced on pre-treating the fabric!

Then, I made my second mistake.

You see, originally, I’d thought I’d do the shirt with a really soft really luxurious red jersey I had that I got for about the same price as this pink. But, I didn’t have enough of that fabric for this shirt. So, I was excited when I folded the pink fabric and there was plenty.

You know what I’m going to say next, don’t you?

That’s right. I totally cut the fabric with the stretch going the wrong way. Oh, and I realized this after I’d already cut out the back, and I’d gotten halfway through cutting out the front.

GAH!

So, I continued on my journey. The instructions for the pattern were really clear and straightforward. That didn’t stop me from making mistake number 3. I read the directions probably 2o times before starting to sew. Somehow I missed the word “baste” in the whole stitch the lace to the shirt step. So, I stitched and then turned the fabric, creating a finished neckline and sleeve. It actually worked in my favor because I didn’t have to hem the front neckline – yay! I decided to add the cuffs at the very end, because I felt that it needed something, and I definitely am happy with the way they look!

I carried on with no further incident. I decided to topstitch around the neckline and sleeves just before they meet the cuffs – partly because I liked the way it looked in the test photos for the pattern, and partly because I felt it needed a little more. I love how it turned out.

Here are some pictures, underneath them, you’ll find information about the giveaway, and a coupon code you can use to get your own Lace Front Knit Top pattern from Seamingly Smitten.

I’m thinking that I need to make another of these shirts – I’ll extend the lace a little further down, and do navy blue on navy blue. I’m then thinking I’ll hand-bead the lace to make a dressy knit shirt that I can wear out on date night. – FUN! –

-Giveaway-

If you like this pattern and the others you see during the pattern tour, you can head over to the Seamingly Smitten Etsy shop and use the coupon code PATTERNTOUR50 to recieve 50% off of your purchase through the rest of November.

-and-

You can enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to try to win. The pattern tour will run from November 13th through the 21st. Here’s the schedule again (with links):

• November 14th: From Cornfields to Cowboys
• November 17th: The Lady and the Gents
• November 18th: Pattern Revolution
• November 19th: Crafty Biggers
• November 20th: Gracie Oliver
• November 21st: Uku Chic

There will be 3 winners for the giveaway:

• First prize: $50 to fabric.com and 6 free Seamingly Smitten sewing patterns
• Second prize: $30 to fabric.com and 4 free Seamingly Smitten sewing patterns
• Third Prize: $25 to fabric.com and 3 free Seamingly Smitten sewing patterns

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

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