Pattern Review: Simplicity 3536

This was my first non-skating sewing project that I made this year, a simple knit top, Simplicity 3536.

Simplicity 3536

I made view D, the sleeveless ruched shirt.  The fabric was from a JoAnn's 50% off red tag event, and the "buttons" (really sew on plastic jewels, but JoAnn applies button sale policy to them) are some of the "Favorite Finidings" brand from JoAnn.  The entire shirt cost less than $8.

My shirt!

Close up of the jewels.  And the wonky facing.

Here is the back.

Although the stitching at the curved neck facing is a bit wonky, I still love this shirt and wear it a lot.  It has even gotten quite a few compliments!  It is a pretty basic shirt, so I don't have too much to say.  Here is the official pattern review:

Pattern Description: Womens Knit Tops with six options.  I made view D - sleeveless ruched top with curved neck facing.  This pattern is now OOP.

Pattern Sizing: (4-6-8-10-12) or (12-14-16-18-20).  I made a size 12.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yup, the instructions make sense.  I had a bit of trouble actually making the curved neck facing, but I think if I used a fusible interfacing it would have gone better.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the envelope once you were done with it?  Yes!  I even added jewels so it looked very similar.  My neck facing isn't quite as smooth, but again this is because I didn't use the best type of interfacing to stabilize the knit.

What did you particularly like or dislike about this pattern?  I really like the results of my shirt.  It gets compliments and I think it looks good when I wear it.  I did have some difficultly sewing the curved neck facing, but if/when I sew it again I will use a fusible interfacing to hopefully prevent the stretching problem I had.

Fabric used: I think it is a cotton-polyester-lycra jersey?  It wasn't on the original bolt, so I am not positive, but it doesn't feel like a poly knit.  It is possible that it is simply a cotton jersey as well.  I used muslin for interfacing because I only had Pellon interfacing on hand.  I made this before I had found "good interfacing" but after I had decided that Pellon was not good (my previous project started to bubble after one use).  I decided muslin fabric would work better than the Pellon, so I used it instead.  It actually has held up well during use and washing, but it did make it more difficult to sew the curved neck facing because the jersey wanted to stretch and move a lot (despite basting).  I also used "Favorite Findings" brand sew on plastic jewels on the neck facing.  They have held up nicely through machine washing and drying.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I added +1" to the length, and I did something of an FBA by adding about 1/2" to the bust curve at the top of the front pattern piece.  In addition, I decreased the waist by about 1/4" on front and back pieces.  I don't remember if the instructions said to interface the front vertical band, but I interfaced that with muslin to add support to the shirt.  If I were going to make this shirt again, I would add another inch to the length.  This was one of the first shirt patterns I ever used, but I have since learned to add +2" of length regardless of pattern company, so the pattern isn't particularly short, I just didn't add enough the first time.

Would you sew it again?  Would you recommend it to others?  Yes I would totally make this again!  I really love this shirt - it can be dressed up for a more elegant or professional look, or it can be dressed down for a more casual look.  I don't have immediate plans to re-make because I have many other shirt patterns I want to try, but when I do re-make it I will add another inch of length (because of my long torso) and I will use fusible interfacing because I think it will really help to stabilize the neck facing.  I would highly recommend this pattern because I think this is a super cute top that could look great on many body types with many other wardrobe pieces.

Conclusion: Love this shirt!  Despite some of the more visible sewing errors on this shirt, I love it and continue to wear it anyway.  It is one of my most-worn pieces that I have made, which probably says enough right there.  I think this shirt can be very versatile, with the ability to be dressed up or dressed down.  I also think this pattern is a good investment due to the variety of styles it comes with.  I have only tried view D so far, but I would also like to try some of the other views from this pattern.  Overall, great pattern!

So there it is - Simplicity 3536.  I really do want to make another version of this shirt in a different color, but I want to try new shirt patterns even more.  Sigh.  So many patterns so little time.