I'm not even sure how I discovered sew pony - I think it was a random instagram post about something else. But I was taken by the lovely ruffled tops. I am still wary of gathering so though I know you can just pop a ruffle anywhere, I need some hand holding. My friend Tessa also felt like ruffles this week and made the Kyoto top. So all of a sudden I had three patterns to try out and I wanted to do it all *right now.* So I did!
Here's the comparison.
Kyoto, by Papercut patterns
Previously had some dubious review due to the shape of the sleeve cap. This has been changed, and now is rounded (it used to come to a sharp point.) I cut a size 2 because I was using heavy sweatshirt material, and Tessa had told me she didn't size down and was happy. Size 2, btw, seems to be a new system for Papercut, who have previously done an XS to XL kind of thing that offered a limited number of sizes at both extremes. The fabric is heavy sweatshirting from the Fabric Box in Auckland. It has a high poly content and very little stretch, which makes me rate it rather low, but it is nice and fuzzy.
I had zero expectations for this top. Because there were previous fit problems I anticipated a crap fit and a dumb looking ruffle. Instead, I produced a top which is adorable as fuck. And I put it on right away and it is still adorable.
I wanted to make a woven version right away!! I wore my sweatshirt version for the rest of the day. Sadly my woven fabric of choice was too small a scrap so I have the idea on hold while I think about things.
Sorella, by Sew Pony
This pattern had two variations. One is a simple dolman tee, with the ruffle to finish the sleeves. I cut a size 6 though my measurements put me in 8, because I noticed there is a lot of ease. This has a nice shape despite being a single pattern piece for both front and back. It does have drag lines at the shoulder to armpit, which I believe is a feature of dolman sleeves when you try to size down.
The other option doesn't really fit in my ruffle-off, but I'll keep it here anyway. I had problems with this because the pattern calls for rib bands. It is possible that the pattern *specifically* calls for rib bands. I have a problem with that. I had more problems with it while trying to put my band onto my top (it wouldn't go.) I made another band 30% wider.
Problems:
"Shorten pattern if you are under 160 cm. Lengthen if you are over 170 cm." Um, really? So you drafted for everyone in a 10 cm range? Not helpful.
One pattern piece for front and back is lazy when you pay money for a pattern.
It was unclear whether the pieced option matches the unpieced option. Like, can I piece the front and use the plain back? Are they all mix and match? (Yes, which I know because I put the pieces on top of each other.)
The pieced variant comes to a sharp end where 3 pieces are supposed to meet up. I consider this lazy drafting. There should be seam allowances added, that mean it comes to a kind of lopped off mountain shape, not a sharp point. As it is you get quite a bulky spot there.
Issie, by Sew Pony
Similarly to the Sorella, there are a number of potential options and variations, and it takes some head scratching to figure out what goes with what. This pattern diagram doesn't show the back of the patterns so it also wasn't clear to me whether the front ruffle variation (vertical) is meant to continue on the back. (No, I think.)
I made the epaulets top first for a friend.
The bonus here is that my friend will love it and I could be pretty relaxed about a top that I knew wouldn't fit me well. It's very long. (I used the size 6 again.) VERY long. The neck band is fine no matter what fabric you use, but for the cuffs I now had a great deal of suspicion and cut them all longer than the pattern by a good 30%. Now, it's possible I don't even like epaulet ruffles. They are pretty stupid looking on an adult piece of clothing. But I got SO ANNOYED by the shitty drafting of the sleeve that before I knew it I was fixing the thing and committing to another version, which I then accidentally did in silk-merino and so now I'm stuck with an epaulet sleeved top. At least it's one that fits me EXCEEDINGLY WELL.
Basically, the sleeve is cut on the fold, which means the front and back are the same. I ask you, is your front and back the same? There's a lot of excess fabric in the front armpit, a loose upper sleeve, and a weird fit hiding under the epaulet. I used the sleeve from the InstincTee by Sasha Secondo Piano, which is a free pattern and is drafted extremely well. It created a HUGE change. Whoa. I narrowed the entire sleeve a bit too.
On my second version I randomly shortened the sleeves, and then equally randomly made long cuffs. I shortened the hem about 2" prior to adding the hem band. So the epaulet ruffles still seem dumb but I have a certain affection for this top now after all that drama. Also now I can go on to make the final version with ruffles up the front! For this version to avoid total twee-ness I ordered rib so that I wouldn't have a ruffled AND flowered top unbroken by any relief. That would be too much for me.
Final thoughts:
The Kyoto totally surprised me. I expected nothing and ended up really pleased with what is a simple pattern with a lot of potential variation.
Sew Pony: I wasn't impressed by the drafting. There are a lot of pattern companies which produce cute knit patterns that are not technically excellent, and I think some of those patterns can still be total winners and I would make them over and over again. Here I felt like the designer was lazy, which made it hard to get a good outcome. It doesn't take much to give a binding for both rib and normal fabrics - and most home sewists won't use rib because it's hard to get. Small things - like making clear what height you are drafting for - add to the quality and usability of a pattern.
No matter how bad a pattern is, with some work, you can make it amazing. It's so easy to keep buying more patterns! But now I have a real affection for the Issie top because I made so many and put so much effort into getting the fit I wanted, and I have an affection for the version I really expected to find over the top...maybe because it is over the top, but also because I put in the most effort to make it come together. I think I'll make more Kyoto tops as I'm keen to do it with lighter fabric, a long sleeved, and a woven version (probably not all at once!) and I'll probably use my Issie pattern to make some normal tshirts without any ruffles.
I am really happy that I spent a few days ruffling like mad. I got over some of my fear of adding ruffles to everything indiscriminately!
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