double trouble on throwback thursday

1988 pattern + similar vintage of thrifted fabric = ???




a.) "this could be heaven or this could be hell..."
b.) "two wrongs don't make a right."
c.) "let's do the time warp again."
d.) all of the above.

(Sorry for the selfies - my photographer husband wasn't available this evening and I wanted to post about this on "Throwback Thursday"  because it seemed apropos.) 

My double needle arrived in the mail today, so I was able to finish up this little dolman sleeve 1988 pattern for a pullover out of some crazy knit fabric of a similar vintage that I found at a thrift store. 

The only things about this pattern that I changed were to make the hem a high-low shape instead of straight across & shorten the sleeves by 3 inches- they tapered more & were longer so that they bloused up around the elbows and created an especially 80's shape that I wasn't that excited about. 

The fabric is really crazy! It's a wild all-over print that looks like it's from the 1980s to me - possibly the early 90s.  I think it's a cotton/poly and the back is sort of like a lightweight version of a French terry. It's kind of pretty on the back, I almost like it better that way.

It was really easy to work with because it doesn't have a lot of stretch.  It pressed well too - very good for getting my sealegs with the double needle and other tricks of working with knits. I really love the smooth and polished look of the double needle.  I am getting the hang of knits, little by little.


Despite the insanely dated fabric, I actually think this style of garment is rather trendy at the moment. Even the crazy print makes a nod to the graphic geometric prints that are currently popular & the dolman or batwing is quite common these days, as well. I saw a student on campus today wearing a very similar cut top over jean-cutoff shorts.  Hers was made of a semi-sheer slubby lightweight navy blue jersey & it looked really chic on her. I think this pattern has some good potential to make a nice yoga layering piece in a new solid color fabric.  I also think it could be potenially adorable in a simple stripe, taking care to match the stripes in the doman sleeve & that would be a fun pattern-matching practice challenge. 


RTW Dolman Sleeve Tops:  Gap, Amazon.com, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus.

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