Finished Project: HotPatterns 1130 - Weekender Triple Torque Top (twisted hem view)

I finished this top over a week ago. I waited to wear it until the weekend so that I didn't have to worry about spilling anything on it before I could get photos taken. On Sunday, we headed out to a U-pick apple orchard, with me thinking, "Hey, this will give me a chance to actually do a somewhat interesting photo shoot! Certainly, these will turn out better than all of the photos that we take in the backyard with our dog jumping on me or our adorable daughter wandering into the shot and mugging for the camera."

The twisted hem view of the HotPatterns Triple Torque top was clearly inspired by the various Japanese draping/pattern books and features an interesting dart that creates an interesting drape near the hem. At the apple orchard, I we got a "front shot" from exactly one angle. This one:

HotPatterns Triple Torque Top

I swear that this is a more interesting, flattering top than this one picture shows. Granted, I probably should have used a drapier fabric, but this angle makes it look like I've got a cup of fabric draped off of my boobs. At every angle other than the one we took this picture at, it looks much more like the line drawing:

HotPatterns Weekender Triple Torque Tops

*sigh* I don't know how it escaped me that in a family outing to an apple orchard, my 2-year-old would want to run around and Pick. All. The. Apples. (We came home with 17 lbs of honeycrisp apples, all picked in a half hour, thank you.)

Here's the back view. The CB seam eliminated that lower-back pooling that you see on my tops that don't have a CB seam. There are some lines up around the shoulders that have me scratching my head, but I'm wondering if that's either how I'm standing or due to the "torque" stuff going on in front.

HotPatterns Triple Torque- back view

I know that some people will wait to blog about projects until they get a good set of pictures, but who knows when I'll get a chance to get more photos of this top taken. Plus, even a bad angle of a top is informative to my readers, I figure. If I can get some better photos of this top taken, I will share them here.

In any case, here are the details of the top:

• I sewed my usual HotPatterns size 18 through the neck shoulders and graded out to a 22 (per the measurement chart) at the armscye. Some of their knit patterns can run a little large, but this one runs true to size. This sizing combo is very close to my TNT SBCC Tonic tee.
• For fabric, I used a heathered gray cotton-spandex blend from Girl Charlee. It's very soft and was easy to work with, but I should have used a lighter weight, drapier fabric for this top. I knew that when I cut my fabric, but I was fixated on making this top in this color and was in love with the softness of this fabric, so that's entirely on me. The pattern envelope even says to use a really drapey fabric.
• The pattern is really fast and easy to sew. You've got that one giant dart that creates the drape, and then the rest of the construction is exactly the same as any other t-shirt you've sewn. I've you've got this pattern in your stash, and you're intrigued by it, it's definitely worth sewing up a quick (wearable) muslin for it. This would be a good pattern for your too-thin, really drapey knits from Girl Charlee or FabricMart. 
• I made no length adjustments to this pattern, and I'm 5'2". I know that HotPatterns sometimes run a bit long on us shorter folks; this one doesn't, so plan accordingly if you're taller.
• I am going to give this pattern another shot using one of my thin merino wool jersey cuts from FabricMart from last winter.
• Originally, I pulled this pattern out of my stash because I thought that it would be similar to that Japanese-style draped BurdaStyle top that many of you in the online sewing community made last winter. I particularly remember Kathy's and Nakisha's versions being cute.
• If you're curious, the BurdaStyle version differs from the HotPatterns version in that the Burda version has raglan sleeves, and the "twist dart" is longer and at a different angle than the HotPatterns version. I think that the idea and spirit behind both patterns are similar, though. Seeing the pattern pieces for both of these, I think that it might be fun to try and hack a TNT t-shirt with different big darts/drapes and see what happens.

You know, I really liked this top until I saw the top photo in this post, but now I'm not sure what to think of it. I know that it's just a matter of positioning the drape differently, though. (I'd been walking around the orchard for a while already when that photo was taken.) On the other hand, I'm not going to be constantly messing with the drape all day when I'm at work (granted, I'm sitting on my butt at a desk most of the time at work, anyway). This definitely isn't a wadder--at worst, I'll wear it under a jacket. The neutral color lends itself really well to being worn under just about anything as a layering piece. 

I will leave you with some apple-picking cuteness. Specifically, here's a picture of my daughter trying to eat an apple the size of her head:

Toddler vs. apple