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Tasha Could Make That

Tasha Could Make That

Vintage knitting, sewing, and a lifetime of craftiness

Next week: wrap/surplice top week of love (projects & mods of Butterick B6285)

January 29, 2016 by Tasha 10 Comments

Hello, friends!

On Monday, February 1st, I’m going to kick off a little sewing miniseries on my blog! I came up with the idea out of the blue, because I have a sewing pattern I’ve been totally obsessing over for the last month and a half (if you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed!). I’ve sewn up 4 different versions (hopefully a 5th by the end of next week) and worked out two big pattern hacks/modifications, and thought hey, why don’t I spread the love out over a week of posts?

Wrap/surplice top week at By Gum, By Golly - starts Feb. 1st

It all started with Butterick B6285, a “patterns by Gertie” (Gretchen Hirsch) Butterick pattern for a wrap top. She announced on her blog back in November that she was going to do a sew-along for it, and a few posts in, I became enchanted.

You see, I had completely overlooked this pattern when it was released! I think because it was sewn in a busy print on the pattern envelope, and that made me have a hard time “seeing” it:

Butterick B6285 pattern viewsSource: compiled from Butterick B6285 pattern art, copyright The McCall Pattern Co.

The patterned fabric threw me off, as did the long ties in a bow at the front, even though it wasn’t that long in the envelope artwork, and there was a line drawing to boot. For whatever reason, none of it grabbed me at the time it was released. (Which is kind of hilarious to me now as I embark on a week singing its praises and I’m already planning many more versions.)

But it all changed when I saw Gertie’s gray version on her blog on one of her inspiration posts during her sew-along where she knotted the ties in the back:

Gertie's gray Butterick B6285 wrap top, copyright Gretchen HirschSource: Gertie’s wrap top sew-along, copyright Gretchen Hirsch

Boom. This was the game changer! (And a reason to love sewing blogs for inspiration!) It was at that point that I saw the potential for it to be a serious wardrobe staple for me, but with one major change: that tied-in-the-back photo planted a seed in my head… because what I kind of most wanted was a top that didn’t wrap around with ties at all, but actually tucked in. A stretch knit, vintage-inspired surplice top!

But first, I would need to make up the pattern like originally written, although I did make one personal alteration and drastically shortened the length of the ties (I’ll talk about that next week, too). Then I spent a couple of versions hacking away at my surplice-top idea. And then, because myself and others who sewed the original wrap top found we wanted it just a biiiit longer since it’s truly waist-length (but it’s more complicated to add length thank you think), I worked out a way to lengthen the bodice of the wrap top, too, which ended up giving me an idea to better my surplice-top hack.

So it’s just been a rolling wrap/surplice top snowball of love lately around my sewing area!

Here’s what I’ll be sharing next week:

  • Monday, February 1st – outfit post: my wrap top versions
  • Tuesday, February 2nd – outfit post: my surplice top versions
  • Wednesday, February 3rd – tutorial: lengthening the bodice on the original wrap top
  • Thursday, February 4th – tutorial: turning the pattern into a surplice top pattern
  • Friday, February 5th – wild card… I’m hoping to have a 3rd and finalized surplice top version sewn up to share! 😉

Stay tuned for more next week! Have a great weekend!

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Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: butterick B6285, wrap tops

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kirsty@Moodycatcrafts says

    January 29, 2016 at 9:41 am

    Oh fantastic! I fell in love with the pattern as soon as I saw it, but I was put off by the comments I’ve read about it being a bit short. I can’t wait to see your hacks next week!

    Reply
  2. Elena Knits says

    January 29, 2016 at 10:39 am

    I’m really looking forward to this since I have the pattern and the fabric but I wanted to lengthen it to be able to wear it also with pants. Your blog is always a treasure!

    Reply
  3. Marie says

    January 29, 2016 at 5:39 pm

    I am interested in seeing how you made the adjustments to this pattern. Looking forward to your posts.

    Thank you
    Marie

    Reply
  4. Jessica says

    January 29, 2016 at 10:46 pm

    These look so fantastic on you! I might need to copy cat!

    Reply
  5. Christina says

    January 30, 2016 at 8:43 am

    Can’t wait to see your versions. I hated the pattern when I saw it in the rose print and was wowed by the grey version too. Looking forward to your feedback on the pattern!

    Reply
  6. Jessyka says

    February 9, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    Looks great!! I’m itching to try this top. Hard to find nice modest tops when your large chested..

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. My wrap tops (good and better) | By Gum, By Golly says:
    February 1, 2016 at 8:45 am

    […] is my first post in the miniseries I’m doing, that I told you about Friday. Let the wrap/surplice top week […]

    Reply
  2. Pattern hack: Lengthen the Butterick B6285 wrap top bodice | By Gum, By Golly says:
    February 3, 2016 at 8:41 am

    […] hit mid-week in my wrap/surplice top miniseries! Aaaand I’m supposed to sew up another surplice top for Friday but it hasn’t happened […]

    Reply
  3. Pattern hack: turn Butterick B6285 wrap top into a tuck-in surplice top | By Gum, By Golly says:
    February 4, 2016 at 9:55 am

    […] I mentioned in my wrap/surplice top series introduction, I have two pattern hacks I’ve worked up for Gertie’s Butterick B6285 pattern. […]

    Reply
  4. Photographs Can Be So Helpful! | alwaysacraftylady says:
    March 1, 2016 at 9:32 pm

    […] also when By Gum, By Golly’s had a series on a wrap top. I haven’t spent too much time on vintage styles lately, but a knit wrap top ticks all my […]

    Reply

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