Vogue 9246 Top and Ponte Pants

The 5 pattern pieces in Vogue 9246 are intended for woven fabric, but I sewed the top in a knit.

I used the yoke to change the direction of the stripes, and add some interest. I cut a yoke piece from another boxy dolman sleeved pattern, the Maya, for comparison. They are quite different.

I also compared the shoulder to armhole depth, and found the Vogue pattern to be too deep for me. I used the XS yoke piece with the M body so the top wouldn’t be too big across my small shoulders. I decided to add pockets to break up the lines and to add another detail.

This is the first thing I sewed mostly on my new serger. I had a yard of this synthetic fabric that I didn’t love, so thought it would be good to experiment with. The colors look like black and white, but they’re actually light gold and black with a narrow glittery bright gold stripe.

I’m thinking of using this pattern again with a blue and white cotton seersucker.

I also made a pair of black ponte pants just like the navy pair I made in January. Ponte is a thick double knit – I used one that’s rayon based instead of polyester. This a great basic winter pant, and will go with so many of my tops. Again I used the Patterns for Pirates Mama Bear Joggers with the waistband of the Itch to Stitch Mountain View pull on Jeans, and altered the pattern to have slimmer legs and a higher rise. The navy pair were my favorite thing to wear last winter.

I also made them mostly on the serger. I forgot to change the differential feed setting for knits, but still got good results. The seams are thick in areas of several layers, and I found it hard to get them to lie flat.

the wrong side

The end of the year is fast approaching and I wanted to make one more outfit, including the Rhapsody blouse, but it can wait.

I might just relax and recharge the last week of the year instead.

2020 has been a memorable year, a year of a worldwide pandemic leading to stay at home orders, shortages of household goods including toilet paper, closing of schools, mask wearing, financial hardships, and the loss of over 300,000 lives in the U.S. and over a million and a half worldwide. In the U.S. it has also been the year of an election that just won’t end, with a President feverishly working to tear down our democracy and overturn the people’s votes.

Those of us who are healthy, with adequate food and housing, are fortunate. Those of us who create, craft, knit, or sew are blessed with an additional way to cope with life’s ups and downs, and make things of practical use and beauty.

Let’s hope for a better 2021 for all of us!