Vogue 9004: Asymmetric top v1.0

I was attracted by the photo of the model wearing this top when Vogue 9004 first came out. I had a number of reasons to love it at first sight:

• Its asymmetric design is distinctive
• I thought that it would be an easy project. Only a few panels and a few seams.
• Its loose fitting means I don't need to make a muslin to get a fit.

The size
I cut size 10 and grade to 12 from waist. It's my normal cut because of my pear shape body type. But I find it's a too small. The top is supposed to be loosely fitted. It seems a bit too tight. I think I will make size 12 next time.

Like what's said in PR, the front hem is bit too high.. My belly is exposed when my jeans are not high waisted. I am think View A may be better on this. Or I can lengthen the front next time?

The corner at the front is too high.

Thanks to Sewtawdry's review, I removed the zip to make it easier and neater.

Back piece of the pattern is well drafted.

The fabric
The fabric label was missing on the bolt but I think the fabric is heavy georgette. I never sewed it before because I thought it would be difficult to handle. However, after making my wedding gown, I learnt a lot from my dressmaker neighbour Verona and got more confidence. "Maybe I can give it a go!" 

The two colour are white and light blue. the difference is very subtle on the photo.

I took extra care on handling the fabric. Instead of cutting the fabric with the pattern on top, I traced the patter on the fabric with tracing wheel and carbon paper, then cut the single-layer fabric along the tracing. Of course, notches and darts are transferred too.

Tracing the pattern on single layer

Neckline

One of the elements that make this special is the asymmetric neckline. If you take a closer look the left front side has a corner that sticks up which makes this top harder to sew.

I failed to sew the corner properly the first time. It's a bit complicated for me and the instructions don't help much. The instructions only tell you where the stitching line is, but don't say how to clip the seam allowance or turn it inside out to make a nice mitre corner. It took me a while to figure it out. The result was less than perfect.

Intersection at the front neckline. a bit messy.

Understitching

Hemming a concave curve
I only realised the front hem line has a bit of a concave curve when I was pressing the fold. Grrr...It gave me a big headache as I had already serged the edge and could not manipulate it any more, plus I never hemmed a concave curve. No surprise I had a lot of puckers in the front hem line.

I would like to hear from you if you have better suggestion.

In conclusion, I blame myself for not planning and studying the pattern enough before sewing. Everything went well until the construction of the neckline and hemming. I hope to sew it again with lighter (normal)  georgette and hopefully I will do better next time.

What's next

I am using the same fabric for Vogue 1398 theTtiered scalloped dress. It's half done so far. Should be up soon!!

Misc
We are back on TRACK! Yes... I started running again. After a couple of kilometres, I was so exhausted that I only wanted to hug the pillar of my house. My motivation behind it is to fit the pattern size. Adjusting the pattern to my out-of-shape body is equally as challenging as fitting my body shape to the pattern.. :P