Yes, my title is swiped
shamelessly from Issey Miyake’s famous 1993 collection, but I reckon that is OK
since this is an Issey Miyake
design 😉
And you’ve probably noticed that it is yellow. A yellow top. Very yellow. Quaite
quaite yellow. As yellow as.
I’ve just been feeling very yellow-philic lately. Don’t bother to look that word up, I
just made it up just then.
“Philic”, meaning “attracted to” of course.
Oh, you’re welcome.
Don’t ever say this blog is not ed-you-cational!
I’ve been hunting for yellow fabric for ages…. and it just
doesn’t ever seem to be “in”. And
I don’t mean pastel primrose yellow, which is inexplicably always represented but which is too dreadful on me: I wanted intense! Saffron
yellow! Fierce yellow! Bold yellow!
Finally I spotted this satisfyingly ferocious, yellow silk
in the Fabric Store, in Melbourne, during our trip away last September, and
snapped it up! Then came the decision
of what to make it in… a decision swiftly and easily made when I laid eyes upon this Issey
Miyake pattern, Vogue 1142. My
yellow silk is that very flimsy and flighty stuff, the sort that slithers
across the table with the slightest breathe, so I knew it would be a good
choice; not too bulky when tripled up with this pleat-tastic design.
Oh, another
made-up word. Honestly….
I wrote a pattern review, below, but there is a kinda major issue with
making up this pattern that I thought it worth mentioning separately… the
pattern instruction just says “fold pleats in place, and press” and then those pleats are not even mentioned again, like bob’s your
uncle and that is all that is needed.
Hello? The sharpness and evenness of those perfectly spaced
pleats is only, like absolutely integral
to the visual success of the design imo.
Wouldn’t those merely pressed-down pleats simply wash out with the very
first wash??? Or, even just fall out on their own, with wear? And then your top will just be a
formless flowy thing; which admittedly could still probably look quite pretty, but
will not be the tiniest bit sculptural and would have lost all the character of the
original. I really like the sharp sculptural
lines of the one on the cover.
Accordingly I took the precaution of edge-stitching each and
every pleat down immediately after pressing. This step was fiddly, and accounted for the bulk of my time
to make the top; but I think it is essential to keep those pleats nice and
crisp for forever: so therefore it is worth it. In fact I just hopped over to Pattern review to check out
the other reviews and noticed that no one else mentioned how they
tackled the permanency or lack thereof, of their pleating; and I am curious as
to how their pleats fared in the wash??
Some deet shots; there is a heck of a lot of topstitching in this top;
edge-stitching on the outer folds of each pleat and the inner edges too,
the side seams are flat-felled in wide seam allowances
there is strategic stitching, artfully placed on the outside
of the pleats, to fuse them together
and also bar-tacks at the vulnerable side-seam/armhole
point as well as the upper edge of the side seam split, to add strength to spots that are subject to strain during wear.
Details:
Top; Vogue 1142, yellow silk
Sandals; Misano
Pattern
Description:
Loose-fitting
pull-over top has pleats and stitched hems. Wrong side of fabric shows.
Pattern
Sizing:
American
sizes 6-14; I cut the size 10
Did
it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you had finished
sewing it?
Yes.
Were
the instructions easy to follow?
Ohh,
the instructions are very easy to follow…
In my opinion a lot of extra top-stitching is essential in order to prepare
this garment to stand up to normal washing and wearing.
What
did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I
absolutely love the design concept; the way a
couple of almost-rectangles can be tweaked here and there before being… well
to put it frankly; pretty much slapped roughly together, and magically become transformed
into a rather romantic, artistic and very unusual blouse.
Fabric
Used:
Very
thin and slippery silk
Pattern
alterations or any design changes you made:
After
pressing each pleat in place, I edge-stitched each and every fold of each pleat,
to make it a permanent fold.
Yup. Each, and. Every. Fold. To not do this would be to lose all those pleats with the very first
wash. And since I spent about five
minutes carefully measuring each fold
before pressing; losing them was not an option I wanted to consider!
In
fact I cannot understand why the permanency of the pleats is not considered and
addressed in the instructions…
Would
you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I
probably will want another one of this summery and airy little top sometime. I recommend this top pattern to the meticulous seamster who craves romance and drama in her wardrobe, but still likes to be comfy.
Conclusion:
It is super comfortable
and very forgiving to wear, and nicely easy breezy for summer. On top of that, it is a delightfully unusual, undeniably cool and
very funky garment. I feel rather
artistique in this top 🙂
