Sleeveless Tops

It's very hot here in Nova Scotia, we rarely get such hot weather. Perhaps a few days per summer, but the heat wave on the east coast is reaching us here. And my usual knit tees feel too clammy to wear. Now, if I were better organized, I would have something sewn up in advance to pull out on such warm days, but I am probably like many other women and wait until the heat is here to panic and try to sew something.

I pulled this pattern out from the stash, I had made it a couple of years ago and recall a problem with the armholes.

Too big, but I forgot how much too big. I noticed that I had raised them, so figured that I had worked out an alteration and cut into a nice piece of rayon batik that I had in the stash. Too bad, the armhole problem was not fixed and the top is unwearable. I tried several things, but it is not fixable and I will finish it off and put it in the donation bag for Goodwill. It is a pity because the fabric has a lovely feel and the collar and shirt fit so nicely except for those humongous armholes.

Since I really like the hang of this shirt, I pulled out another pattern that is sleeveless, and that I know fits. It is the top from Twice as Nice, a pattern from Saf-T-Pockets. I know this one fits because I actually taught a class on this once, making a reversible sleeveless top using industrial methods. I can't remember them now, but I am sure they would come back if I made it again. I guess I wasn't charmed enough by the style then because I only ever made one. But the pattern is useful to compare with this Kwik Sew, and that is what I did. It was surprising to see just how much the armhole was off when compared with one that fit. It was clear that I could raise the underarm quite a bit without affecting anything else and that is what I did, in this photo.

This is the shirt that didn't work.

And this is the fabric for the next try. I will let you know if it works. While searching the stash for suitable fabric, I came across another piece of rayon batik (I got several pieces while I was selling batiks from Batik Butik in my online store). If you have never sewn with their fabrics, do check them out. The batiks are 100% rayon, so very cool to wear, with lovely colours that don't wash out. And the rayon is good quality, it withstands machine washing and doesn't hang all limp as some rayons do.