Kat Top – Pattern Review

Have you heard of Designer Stitch Patterns? Ann approached me a few months ago with an offer to try some of her patterns and I happily agreed. I have to admit that I have been absolutely awful with reviewing them and my blog posts are very, very overdue. This has nothing to do with the quality of the patterns at all, quite the opposite, I am very impressed with it! It has everything to do with me dropping off the blogosphere for a bit and just generally being an unreliable blogger.

I am very grateful to Ann for letting me try out the patterns and being so nice in allowing me to stay quiet about them for so long… I feel very bad! Nonetheless, I have really enjoyed sewing with Designer Patterns. In my opinion so far, the drafting has been impeccable and the whole experience has been very pleasant. You can read all about my Alyse Slim Leg Pant here. I also have already hacked those pants into a front fly pant because I just loved the fit so much! I have made 3 more out of fabric I am not impressed with and have 3 more planned out of gorgeous RPL fabric I got from Emma One Sock. But let’s get back to the Kat Top, shall we?

Kat Top has 2 variations in one pattern. Both are a classy, dart-less easy shaped tops. Weekday Kat has a set in sleeve, whereas Weekend Kat has an extended shoulder line without sleeve. The pattern comes in sizes 6-26 covering bust measurements from 32″ to 52″. It is really nice to see and support a designer who also designs for plus size range.

There are separate pattern pieces for Weekday Kat and Weekend Kat. So essentially you are getting two different tops for the price of one. As usual with Designer Stitch Patterns, the seam allowances vary from 5/8″ for most of the construction to 1/4″ for neck. However all the seam allowances are clearly indicated throughout the instructions and are really hard to miss. The instructions also have handy illustrations to help along with sewing.

I chose the size based on my bust measurement and barely did any alterations to my Kats. I always have to add some length to the garment and width to the shoulder and certainly did it with this pattern. I am tall and my shoulders are quite broad! I also added a little bit of width to my chest, which is a usual adjustment for me as well. Nonetheless, my first muslin came out looking great! Here she is in stiff cotton I used for this purpose.

For my fashion fabric I used very flow-y and lightweight burgundy viscose from Blackbird Fabrics. They are of course sold out of the fabric, seeing that this post is written a few months after the fact, but their tencel twill may work just as well! The top came together so well and so easily! I always have hard time with extra ease in the sleeve cap (why is there always so much!) but this top has just the perfect amount of ease. Setting these sleeves in was a breeze.

I also made Weekend version of Kat top. I altered the pattern just a little bit by slashing the front bodice to add the remnant of this gorgeous flowery rayon.

I also love the fit of this version, however unfortunately I find that the dropped shoulder style does not look as good on my broad shoulders. It almost accentuates them and that’s the last thing I need. Do you know if there is anything I can do? I love the dropped or extended shoulder patterns. May be I should try extending the shoulder further so the fabric hangs more…

This pattern has been a clear win for me. So much so that I also already have a few more versions planned. I actually tried muslin-ing another woven top pattern last night, but the fit was all kinds of wrong on me. While I was standing there thinking of the ways I can try to make it look better, I remembered my Kat top experience. So instead of making that pattern work, I decided that I will alter the easy things like neckline, sleeve length and hem on my tried and true Kat instead. I am so excited to hack this into all top ideas I have in my head!

Unit next time,
Anya

Posted By: Anya · In: Blog