Crafting A Rainbow

Two weeks ago I posted about my tester version of the new Cashmerette Belmont leggings, and and mentioned how I hadn’t tried the top out yet… well, now I have!

The Cedar pattern include a fitted workout tank which I’m not likely to ever make… and a loose dolman tee with an optional tie hem. I wanted to make the tee more winter-friendly, so I added a slim sleeve to the original kimono sleeve! I’m happy with how it works out, so I’ll show you step by step how I did it below.

But first, let’s talk about this top! A couple people have asked me how it compares the to Concord tee, so here is my take:

• Concord skims the figure; Cedar is loose
• Concord has set-in sleeves; Cedar has short dolman/kimono/cut-on sleeves
• Concord has 3 necklines and sleeve options, and two lengths; Cedar just has one neckline and sleeve, with two hem options (Cedar also includes a workout tank)
• Concord is for knits-only; Jenny says Cedar can be made in a drapey woven
• ADJUSTMENTS: I slashed and spread Concord in the back to add more room for my tush; I shortened Cedar 1″ across the high bust and armscye to make the waist shaping fall at the right spot.

I hope that helps! I’d say if you like one, you should try the other. I’m hoping for a Cashmerette raglan someday, because with those three options I could hack almost any type of tee.

I like the fit in the body, and how it hang loose but not shapelessy baggy. (I like that look too – I’ve sewn a couple of Tessuti’s Mandy Boat tees recently, and they are gloriously oversized!) The C/D cup fron pattern piece looks like a classic dolman tee, so I went for the E/F as usual to get some of that sweet bust shaping! The waist has a definite curve, which I think you can see in the above-right picture.

The length is as drafted,and while I’m tempted to make it longer, I think the proportions are nice. I finished the neckline with a band… and I admit I didn’t look at the instructions to see if that’s the way I was supposed to do it! The fabric is a thin rayon-poly blend knit. In case you are wondering, the leggings are Expressos sewn in ITY as part of my frantic athletic wear sewing in the fall!

Are you ready to see how I made the sleeves? I’m awful at tutorials, but I did remember to take pictures as I winged it!

Top left: Lay the tops of the front and back bodice together, with the seam allowance overlapping.

Top right: Use quilting rulers to extend the angle of the sleeve. I extended the sleeve by 12″.

Bottom left: Cut out the sleeve, with a slight curve at the hem and shoulder. With the curve, my final sleeve piece was 11″ long. I recommend hemming it right away, then attaching it on to the existing dropped sleeve either flat (before the side seams) or in the round (after the side seams.

Bottom right: Voila! Sleeves!

Of course, you could just do a long-cut on sleeve… but the grainline gets wonky when you extend a dolman sleeve, and sometimes the sleeve ends up too tight.

The eagle-eyed amongst you might realised that the Cedar+sleeves ends up being a LOT like my TNT Jalie Dolman tee.  In shaping, neckline, and fit, it really is similar! The Cedar has a bigger plus-size range though, and Jalie offers their typical kids-to-adults size range. In summer I’ll look forward to trying the tied hem version of the Cedar top, and in the meantime, I’m thinking of a tunic length version with split hem and cowl!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that Jennifer from We Bought A Manor and I dared each other to wear Cashmerette every day for a month, with no repeats… so stay tuned for that in February! And if you want to join in for any of it (a day, a week, whatever), use the hashtag #cashmerettechallenge. It’s nothing formal, just a bit of fun!