Sandra Betzina - V1085

 I've been thinking of sewing more knits for winter and rediscovered this pretty fabric in my stash.  Its got 4 way stretch and is a nice sweater knit.








  

I have purchased several Sandra Betzina patterns in the past but haven't had a chance to make any of them up yet.  Well yesterday  I finally got to it.  I prewashed the fabric and laid it out on my cutting table to let it "relax".  Its pretty stretchy so I let it lie for 24 hours.  The pattern for the shirt I'm making is V1085 and I made the cowl neck view A, show below in the grey and white stripes. 

I took Sandra's Fit Class when she came to Tulsa early this year (before I lost weight) and had to change the Letters for size.  I chose D for the bust and graded up to an E for the waist and hip area.  I like shirts to "skim" my waist and hips; not cling tightly like the styles reflect now.  I just don't think showing how many rolls you have around the waist is attractive, I don't care how young you are.  Just seeing all these young girls showing all that fat around the middle is sad and shows how out of shape America is and how most are a slave to fashion.  There, I said it.  I'm off my soapbox for today.  LOL.

Okay, back to sewing.  I found the pattern directions very good.  I followed them for the most part.  I used the needle requested for sewing (70/10HM) and a narrow zigzag of 1.0mm width & 2.5mm length.  I attached the raglan sleeves to both front and back then tried it on for fit.  It mentions in the pattern there is one inch seam allowances on the side seams for "fit".  I found Using 5/8" was just right for me.  Once I determined that the fit was right, I sewed more seams and serged them all for a nice finish.  I used my cover stitch machine to hem the 3/4 length sleeves and the hem of the garment.  Oh, let me mention I reduced the length by 1 inch and gave it an 1 1/2 inch hem.  The pattern suggest 5/8" for a hem.  Let me say that was way longer looking than the picture on the front of the pattern showed.  The last thing you do is attach the band for the neckline.  That was really easy.  You also create a little pouch for a weight to keep the neckline in place.  All in all, I really love the top and have been wearing it since it was finished.  I'd recommend it to others and I'll make a couple more myself.  Here's a picture of me wearing the finished top.  I love it!

And here is a close up of the neckline area.