Finishing the Knot Front Top: Pattern Corrections, First Sample, and How to Draft It

We finished the knot front top this week. I transferred the drape to paper, corrected the shoulders, armholes and side seams so both halves matched, cut a first sample in rayon jersey and sewed it up to see it on the form. Then, because somebody asked how to make this pattern more easily, I went back to my knit block and gave the actual measurements for drafting it flat, without draping it first.

Reverse Engineering a JW Anderson Knot Front Top From Your Own Block

You voted for the JW Anderson knot front top, so we started it. Rather than draping from nothing, I worked from my fitted jersey torso block: traced it, relaxed it, cut a quick working muslin and refined it on the form. That is the method I want you to take from this. A designer top like this is not out of reach once you have your own blocks, and the front knot turned out to be the easy half. It is the back that changes everything.

Making My Own Royal Ascot Dress: Pattern, Fabric, and Where the Finishing Matters

I went to Royal Ascot this year and made the dress myself, the first proper dress I have ever made for me rather than for a client. I talked through the whole process: sketching my own body to see its real shape, choosing a simple pattern deliberately while I learn what suits me, padding a form to my measurements, and then all the finishing decisions on a brocade that frays. The design is the easy part. The sewing and the finishing are where it is won.

From Sloper to Draped Front Top, Without Draping It First

This week I turned the draped top we made a fortnight ago into a pattern, but deliberately not by transferring the drape. Instead I showed how to get to the same place from a sloper or a fitted t-shirt block, which is what you need if your dress form is not your size. We worked out how much ease to add, how to choose the flare angle, and how to fit the front drape on your own body with nothing but a fitted tee, a bit of elastic and a safety pin.

Reverse Engineering a Crossover Front Top, Draped Two Ways

This week I worked out a designer crossover front top by draping it, a piece I first understood by studying one closely while working for a designer in Hollywood. The front is elongated, sewn only part way, then the two panels cross over each other and pin at the side. I draped it once in jersey and again in muslin so you could see how much the fabric changes the amount of ease you need, and showed the variations: with or without a centre front seam, V neck or boat neck, snapped or stitched at the side.