My Love Affair with New Look 6781: The True Story of a Real Tried and True Top

I hadn't done any garment sewing for three years before I busted out my sewing machine to sew up some COVID masks.  After making about fifteen of those, and finishing up a quilt top, I felt confident enough to try a bigger project.  Time to revisit one of the first patterns I ever used: New Look 6781.  I made two versions of this top back in 2010.  I can't believe it's been 10 years since then!!

I used stash fabric: a stripe from the Loominous Wovens collection by Anna Maria Horner.  This particular fabric was one I had been saving for a special project.  I decided that the first garment I made for myself after a three-year hiatus counted as a special project.

What I didn't anticipate was the extra challenge that the stripes were going to present!  I should have known better!  After strategically placing the pattern pieces, I barely had enough fabric to complete the project.

Indeed, I hit a snafu with the self-fabric ties in the back.  The fabric was a little too fragile and didn't survive my turning method.  And of course, I didn't have enough fabric left to be able to cut out replacement pieces.  Luckily I was able to find some ribbon that coordinated beautifully.  I just hope the ribbon will hold up okay with repeated washings.

This photo shoot was done in combination with my previous sweater post, so I am still battling the wind a little bit.

Overall I'm happy with how it turned out.  I struggled to line up the stripes perfectly between the front insert and the bottom half of the shirt.  You can see the problem on the right side facing.  That was the best I could do after four tries, so I just decided to live with it.  Somehow I managed to do better on the left side.

I also learned a new technique: rotating a dart!  In order to make the stripes line up prettily on the bodice, I couldn't keep the dart positioned as it was drawn.  So by trial and error, I rotated the dart until the stripes lined up, trying to keep the same length, etc.

The perfect buttons happened to be lurking in my stash, too!  Long story short: after not sewing for so long, combined with the additional challenge of the stripes, I am calling this a win!

And I'm off and running!