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Tasha Could Make That

Tasha Could Make That

Vintage knitting, sewing, and a lifetime of craftiness

Plaid flannel tie-front topper

October 26, 2016 by Tasha 32 Comments

Before Mel and I went up to northern Wisconsin for a short vacation earlier this month, I had grand plans for vacation sewing (as you do), but only got a couple of items finished. The first I’m sharing is this flannel topper!

flannel tie-front topper

I found this great Simplicity pattern from 1949 at an antique mall for just a couple of dollars! I bought it purely for the tie-front topper. I thought it would be great sewn up in a cozy plaid flannel to wear over solid tees and turtlenecks. Teeechnically this doesn’t fit into my Vintage Pledge this year for sewing up 1950s patterns, but 1949 is pretty close and I’d say this is a very mid-century look, so I’m giving it a pass. 😉

vintage Simplicity 2937 (1949)

Plaid is one of my absolute all time favorite prints (why else would I have—and regularly wear—so many Pendleton jackets?!). But, I know it’s such a pain to sew, so up until this project… I hadn’t actually sewn with plaid. I know, I know. And the irony is not lost on me that I chose a pattern with a seam running straight down the arm for my first go at plaid matching and placement!

I took a lot of time placing the print on the bodice. It’s not like we’re talking a button-down shirt with a yoke and plackets and pockets and set-in sleeves, but I did still want to get it looking as good as possible! I know you can’t match everything with plaid, it’s just not possible since pieces curve and such, and things like fronts and backs aren’t always shaped the same, which was the case for me. I decided the most important things to do were:

  • get the pattern lined up nicely across the torso, and matching center front and collars
  • get the pattern lined up nicely on the back, taking the center back seam into consideration
  • match the pattern on the facings so the collar was perfect, both front and back, and the print placement on the body was the same as on the facings, so that when worn, the facings are in line with the bodice
  • match the red lines as much as possible down the sleeve seam (which is on the outside of the arm from wrist to shoulder)

The front is all one piece, so I just moved the piece around until I felt like the lines would fall in nice places on the bodice front: both the vertical and the horizontal lines, the collar, sleeve and the like.

Below, the collar area is at the bottom of the photo, and the part that ties at the waist is at the top.

topper-pattern-placing

Then of course I had to do the exact same thing with the other front. Slow going and a fabric eater, but it paid off!

flannel tie-front topper

flannel tie-front topper

The back involved nice placement of the center back seam (which is actually slightly curved towards the bottom for some reason), as well as trying to get the sleeve/shoulder seam vertical red lines to match up mostly with the front. That was the most difficult part for sure.

flannel tie-front topper back

The side seams had to fall into the category of “don’t worry about it” because I couldn’t get the shoulder/arm seam looking good as well as the side seam, so that was the sacrifice. Since you can barely see the side seam because of the dolman sleeves and cropped length anyway, it just made the most sense.

But those sleeves, geez. Cut-on and batwing sleeves are really not meant for plaid! But I was stubborn. There was no way I could match the pattern exactly, but I at least got most of the red lines to intersect from the front and back. I’m definitely pleased with the results. It’s better up towards the shoulder before the seam curves more and less of the gray and black lines match, but I’m happy.

flannel tie-front topper back

flannel tie-front topper back

flannel tie-front topper back

And for sewing geekery, here’s a shot of under the collar, where everything lines up at the center back of the collar and back bodice:

under collar

Because this is essentially an unlined jacket, I contemplated binding the seam allowances to look a bit nicer inside, but when I did it on a sample they were too bulky with the flannel (even with the thinnest of binding, using rayon seam tape), so I nixed that idea and serged them instead. This would be a nice lined jacket, but honestly if I need a lightweight jacket to be warm enough to be lined, it also needs to close up properly in the front. So it’s better to use a pattern like this as a ‘topper’ instead. I also opted to edge stitch around the entire topper, which makes all the edges a bit more crisp.

The fabric is one from Robert Kaufman’s mammoth flannel line, and looks a lot like a vintage shadow plaid you’d see on men’s Pendleton shirts. It’s really a cozy fabric, and I liked working with it a lot. Very moldable but seemed to hold its shape well, and soft and thick. I have some more in a different print for a shirt for Mel (yes, I’m going to sew a vintage shirt for Mel! at some point…). I love this line but be forewarned not every photo is accurate, as the one I ordered from Mel looks way less plaid in person as the vertical lines are not as distinct as it looks. (I kind of hate how many online fabric shops don’t take their own photos of fabric and rely on the ones supplied from the manufacturer, so if they’re inaccurate in one place they’re inaccurate in lots of places, but that’s another story.)

flannel tie-front topper

The jury is still out how often I will wear this. I’ve been bored with some of my same combinations of clothing lately, and thus I’m trying to add in new things for the cooler weather. I do blouse-and-cardigan all the time, but I wanted a few other silhouettes in my wardrobe. So this is one thing I’m going to try out, although I don’t envision wanting a slew of them or anything. Currently I don’t have many solid-colored tops (and less that match), so I don’t have much to wear this over yet. But as I work on that, I’ll hopefully get a lot of wear out of this. Because it sure is cute!

flannel tie-front topper back

outfit details

vintage tie-front topper: made by me
t-shirt: misc.
jeans: Freddies of Pinewoods
shoes: Rocket Originals
lucite earrings: misc.
belt: misc.

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Filed Under: Sewing, Vintage Wardrobe Tagged With: simplicity, vintage pledge, vintage sewing, vintage sewing patterns

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tami Von Zalez says

    October 26, 2016 at 10:38 am

    Beautifully done – and I so love your red hair. Wish I could sport that color but it washes out in a nanosecond, the gray can’t hold a color.

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:24 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  2. Rebecca says

    October 26, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Great job matching that plaid! It looks couture!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:24 am

      Thank you, definitely took some time! 😉

      Reply
  3. Philippa says

    October 26, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    I think this is such an elegant style – even with jeans! I can definitely envisage it over a turtle neck in colder weather too.

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:24 am

      I got a chance to wear it with a turtleneck in northern Wisconsin and I really liked it that way!

      Reply
  4. Siobhan says

    October 26, 2016 at 5:33 pm

    This is so cute! I can’t believe this is your first time working with plaid – your matching is spot-on. You may have already done this, but when I have to cut pieces with tricky pattern placement, I cut the first piece (eg, the left front bodice), then flip it over and lay it out on the fabric so *everything* matches, then cut around it for the second, mirrored piece (eg the right front bodice). Much easier than trying to place all those lines for the second time round 🙂

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:26 am

      Thanks! Well first time with plaid but not with matching prints, so that helped, but it was still quite an ordeal! I did do it the way you said, using the other piece to guide the placement. Still tedious but made that part a lot easier! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Kim says

    October 26, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    This is a bit off-topic, but your hair looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:26 am

      Thank you! 😀

      Reply
  6. Nina says

    October 26, 2016 at 10:50 pm

    Cute! Your last pic looks very Rosie the Riveter. I really like the way the thick fabric looks.

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:26 am

      Thanks! It’s really warm (well as warm as cotton can be) and nice.

      Reply
  7. Lynn says

    October 27, 2016 at 8:16 am

    I love it!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:26 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  8. jeanine says

    October 27, 2016 at 8:55 am

    Wow, this is a beautiful top. Your stubborness paid off! I’m slowly resigning myself to the fact that I’m going to have to stop sewing warm weather clothes….(even though it still gets up in the 80’s every day here in Austin) Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:27 am

      Thanks! I have so many colder-weather things planned now I’m probably going to still have some of them on my list by the time it warms back up next year, lol!

      Reply
  9. Patricia says

    October 27, 2016 at 10:31 am

    super cute!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:27 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  10. Camille says

    October 27, 2016 at 5:13 pm

    This is absolutely gorgeous! Such a cool shape, and great job on the plaid matching!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:27 am

      Thanks! It was worth the time it took, in the end. 🙂

      Reply
  11. Michelle Tisza says

    October 27, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    Fabulous job. Love the collar and fabric choice. You are very talented, indeed!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:27 am

      Thank you! I think it’s a great collar, too!

      Reply
  12. Cherie says

    October 27, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    Your topper is so chic! I love love it with the red cami. A red T neck would be good; can’t imagine it with another color. The red sure makes the plaid pop! And the plaid matching, zowie!!!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:28 am

      I know, basically red and black are about what I can see myself wearing with it, possibly white but I don’t wear white turtlenecks really because of having dyed red hair. lol

      Reply
  13. Cynthia says

    October 29, 2016 at 5:51 am

    Your plaid matching is great! It was worth the effort !
    And I really like this silhouette on you, it looks like it would work well with a variety of bottoms too, like cigarette pants or even a fuller skirt, no?
    But it’s true that it may be hard to match it with a printed top, though it may work with something in similar colors?

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:29 am

      If I had a plaid shirt with similar colors I could possibly pull it off underneath. I was contemplating a solid-colored one before I made this, but I kind of want to see how often I think about wearing it to see if it would be worth it. Or to see how many “oh if only this was a solid color” moments I have. 😉

      Reply
  14. PinhouseP says

    October 30, 2016 at 4:05 am

    Great top! I would not have envisioned a cozy flannel garment, looking at that pattern envelope! But man, that’s really a good wearable piece 🙂 It looks great in plaid! Well done!

    Reply
    • Tasha says

      October 31, 2016 at 8:30 am

      Thanks! I know, I definitely took it more casual than the envelope suggests, but I’m a casual person at heart. 😀

      Reply
  15. Nicole says

    October 31, 2016 at 12:11 pm

    Great pattern matching! This looks like a lovely alternative to a cardigan.

    Reply
  16. bella lauren says

    November 1, 2016 at 6:11 am

    You look gorgeous in this vintage topper ,love your fabric and collar choice

    Reply
  17. Sew It or Throw It says

    January 3, 2017 at 8:49 pm

    I just made a version of this top in a shirt-weight cotton, and linked back here to share how the feeling of the jacket/shirt changes with a different weight fabric. Love your very cozy version!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Plaid flannel dress | By Gum, By Golly says:
    June 13, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    […] worth noting that I wouldn’t call it advisable to use plaid for cut-on sleeves, but that hasn’t stopped me before. I’ve seen it in original 1950s garments, and that’s good enough for me. If […]

    Reply

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