Cashmerette - Ahead of the Curve - Kersoe Top

Cashmerette - Ahead of the Curve

Kersoe Top

In August 2022 sewing.patternreview.com had a Mini Wardrobe contest.

For my Mini Wardrobe I made 2 pair of Calder pants, the Vernon shirt in black linen, the Alton top in a black and white print linen and a reversible Kersoe top in Ponte.

My colour theme was black and white print mixing.

Mini Wardrobe rules: Sewing a capsule wardrobe is a great way to make dressing easy. Whether you are dressing for the office, working at home or working out, this contest will help you ensure that your wardrobe is versatile, super easy and customized to your needs. In this month-long contest, participants will sew five items that coordinate to form a collection. The collection must include two tops, two bottoms (pants, shorts, skirt, skort, etc.) and the fifth item is Sewer’s choice – can be another top, bottom, topper (cardigan or jacket) or a dress.

Top left to right - Calder pants - Harrison shirt and RTW pants - RTW pants.

Bottom left to right - Calder pants - RTW pants

The Kersoe top is exclusively available with the book Ahead of the Curve. The Kersoe has a V neckline front and back and half lining that finishes under the boob and gives the neckline and armholes a very smooth finish eliminating the need for complicated binding.

Size:

UK 16-36
US 12-32
All sizes have cup options C/D, E/F, G/H.
I made the US 18 with G/H cup

The suggested fabrics for this top are linen, cotton or rayon.
I upcycled a striped knit dress for this top. I wanted to try using a stripe fabric and making a chevron top. As there are no fabric stores near me I popped into the local Opp shop and bought a T-shirt dress for the fabric.

Toile
I made a toile to check the fit and especially the bust dart position so I didn’t bother with the half lining.

I added a centre front seam so I could cut my fabric on the bias and create the chevron at the front and back.

Opp shop dress used to make my toile

I drew a line directly onto my paper tracing of the pattern at 45 degrees to the CF. I used this to accurately line up the stripe fabric and match the position for the chevron.

I moved the bust apex down 1”, straightened the sides out below the second side seam notch to remove the hip shaping. I took it in at the bust 3/4” at the underarm.

I cut 1” off the bottom edge before hemming it up 1”.

Because this was just a test run I didn't want to buy stripe fabric so I bought a long loose T-shirt dress which had just enough fabric for the front and back cut on the diagonal.

Toile Kersoe

My fashion Kersoe is made from two different striped Ponte fabrics from Tricia’s Discount Fabrics. When I saw these two fabrics it inspired me to make my Kersoe a reversible top which was the negative of itself on the inside.

The diagonal side ripples are bust dragging

Fit Changes
I made the size 18. I could have gotten away with a 16 but needed to allow for the extra thickness of two layers.

The Kersoe is designed for a woven fabric but I used a firm stretch.
It has recently been pointed out to me that the diagonal rippling angling from the bust down to the side is called bust dragging. It is caused because there is not enough room in the bust so the breast is pulling more fabric from the side of the garment. To fix this I would have to do an FBA and go up a cup size . This would be especially necessary if I were going to make the Kersoe in a woven because there would be more dragging.

The back bunches at the waist. This could be because the back is too long or because the top is too tight on the hips so it rides up. Either way its something I can fix in the next version.

I have since made this top in this size using a single layer of very stretchy bamboo fabric There is no bust dragging on this garment I believe because the fabric is thinner and has a lot more stretch.

bamboo Kersoe sleep top

On my paper tracing of the pattern I drew a line at a 45 degree angle to the centre front so I would get an accurate stripe placement. I drew this same line on the same position on the back pattern piece as well.
I cut the front and back from both fabrics and did not use the half lining at all.

I did this by making two identical Kersoe tops but leaving the shoulder seams undone.
I then sewed the two Kersoe's together at the neckline first and then the armholes. I turned one top out to the right side.

I carefully pressed the seams so the fabric was flat and not showing the inside colour. I then safety pinned the corrosponding shoulder seams together through one layer only and then pulled the shoulder seams from the wrong side through to the inside. With the right sides together and matching the armhole and neck seam positions I hand tacked the black to the white at the shoulders then carefully stitched them together.

Normally you sew the neckline and armholes and leave the side seams open but I was so focused on matching the stripes that I forgot this so instead I opted for the shoulders.

Finally I put my Kersoe on and pinned the hem edges so both edges were sitting smoothly against my body. I laid the top out and trimmed the hem so it was straight and even. I did that burrito thing so the right sides of the black hem faced the right side of the white hem and pinned them together. I sewed 85% of the way round the hem and left an opening to turn my top through.