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Saturday, February 20, 2016

The Four Tops - "I Can't Help Myself"

It's been a while since my last post but I have indeed been sewing.  After sewing the olive green jacket, I felt the need to make some quick and simple knit tops.  I made four tops...but I cannot say "Four Tops" without thinking of the title of the wonderful Motown song by the Four Tops, "I Can't Help Myself" which is how I felt making these tops.  They came together quickly and provided me with some instant gratification.

The first top I made was a long sleeve brown turtleneck top made out of a bamboo knit jersey I purchased at NY Elegant Fabrics in NYC.  I made it to go with the sweater knit cardigan I made a few months back.  I love the cardigan but the fabric feels itchy to me so I decided to make a long sleeve turtleneck to shield me from the itchy fabric:



Which then led me to make another turtleneck in a wonderful navy blue fabric a dear friend convinced me I just had to have (and she was right).  It was purchased in one of those little stores on 39th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues that always has a "Going Out of Business" sign but never does.  I got the end of the bolt:



Since I had plenty of the navy blue fabric left over, I made a 3/4 length sleeve scoop neck top for the warmer months:


Finally, I just had to make one more turtleneck in a heather grey interlock fabric I had in my stash:



All of the above tops are self-drafted patterns.  They are sewn 100% on the serger.  For the turtlenecks, I made sure to use the 3 thread overlock stitch on my machine.  I believe this stitch has a good amount of give to it which allows the neckline to stretch enough to fit my big head (ha!).  I used the coverstitch for all of the hems.  I also sewed darts into all of the tops using the technique I wrote about in a previous post:



They are all very comfortable and great to wear by themselves or under jackets.  I am not done making knit tops yet!  I will post again soon...

Happy Sewing!

12 comments:

  1. You've been on a roll, love your 4 tops!

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  2. I love them all! I'm sure they will be in heavy rotation!

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    1. Thanks Vanessa! Yes, I have worn each of them several times already.

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  3. Ha ha ha about the 4 tops and "I can't help myself" :)
    Your tops look great!

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  4. Your tops look great on you. I'm impressed by the edge finishing, too.
    LOL! after reading your post, I just had to go to youtube and play "I can't Help Myself"

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    1. Thanks so much! I love all of the Motown music. But the song I have stuck in my head right now is the song by the Four Tops, "Bernadette."

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  5. All such great basics! You will wear these to death I am sure.

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    1. Thank you! Basics are not very exciting but certainly necessary in a wardrobe, at least for me.

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  6. These are wonderful basics Tomasa. I particularly like the brown turtle neck and the bamboo will be lovely to wear. Did you use a pattern for these? xx

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    1. Thank you Dawn! The brown bamboo fabric is so soft. I love it! I used patterns I drafted myself using draping/measurement techniques.

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