[Robin]

Hello,

Long time reader, first time poster! I just finished the Hopscotch Top with long sleeves. It was fun and fast to make. The sleeves are far too tight. I made the size 5 for my 4 year old daughter. I’ve made the size 5 in the Jump Rope Dress, Sailboat Top and 2+2 blouse with no problems. I checked to make sure that I used 1/4″ seam allowance. Any other ideas on what went wrong?

And… Is it possible to seam rip the stitches out of knit fabric without distorting the fabric too much? I was thinking of replacing the sleeves with the size 6 ones.

Cheers,

Robin

[Nicole]

Hallo Robin, and Welcome !

This top needs to be made in a very stretchy knit as the arms are designed to be slim fit.

If you take care , you can unpick stretch knit , it should go back to shape , just don’t tug to much. If I can , I will often trim off the stitching and do a very narrow seam next time.

Hopefully someone else will chime in with more help!

[JohannaO]

It’s possible to rip them out, just time consuming. You may want to throw the cut sleeve back into the wash to help it regain it’s shape after ripping the stitches out. If it’s a cotton knit, it shouldn’t run. I have a skinny-minny little girl, and the arms are a little tight on her. (But I also haven’t made it in interlock yet, just some nasty jersey.)

[Nicole]

The City Weekend knit is PERFECT for this top, I am not going to bother with anything else ( but I am very new to knits )!

[sayiamyou]

I’ve made several of these and yes, the arms are form fitting. I made the 2T for my almost 2 yr old. I just give the sleeves a little stretch before putting the tops/dresses on her and that helps. I have ripped seams on the CW knit (to correct a pucker in the sleeve) and I went VERY slowly about it. Worked out fine, thankfully.

Good luck. And welcome!

[Robin]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I used Patty Young’s interlock with 50% stretch. It is quite thick. I do have some City Weekend that I will screw up my courage and use. Using my very best parenting skills, I told Sophie she could use glitter and scissors if she wore the top. So far so good. The sleeves have stretched a little with wear.

[sayiamyou]

I bought 2 yards of the Patty Young to make these tops with for my daughter (before the CW was released). I can tell you that I won’t buy any more. I washed it twice, dried it on high, and it STILL shrank! This knit definitely is tighter in the arms and needs some stretching before putting on or wearing.

Get up your courage. You won’t regret using the City Weekend!!

[Rpankow]

Just to give out my experience, I did one of these (long sleeve) for my daughter a while ago. I ended up using the Michael Miller Elvira print. I prewashed and dried only once. For my daughter I made a size 3 with size 4 for length. I have noticed that the pattern is a fitted design, but haven’t had a problem with her being able to wear it. I continue to wash on cold and dry low. I did notice a little shrinkage after several washes, but not too bad. It shrank a bit on the sleeve length and overall length. That is the one thing I love about having a girl…long sleeve goes to 3/4 sleeve, pants go to capri, dress goes to tunic. Now that she’s grown a bit since I made it, I have her wear it with jeans…thanks to all the wonderful fashionistas on the Flickr group for seeing the light on that look.

I feel bad that people are having a bad experience. I have yet to order CW, I like to try to buy local/in person whenever I can. I just got lucky enough to have some of the MM knits at our local quilt shop. Knits are not easy to come by in my neck of the woods.

Robin, I’ll keep that in mind because I do have 2 PY knits waiting for me. I plan on making those up this spring/summer when we hang almost all of our laundry outside. Hopefully that will help in the shrinkage department.

[janimal]

Hmm, I made a knit top for ME with a PY knit, that I had washed and dried before sewing and it’s too big. (Silly Big 4 pattern companies) – perhaps if I keep washing and drying it will shrink up for me.

Another big vote for CW – the knit is so soft. It’s like butter.

[Liesl Gibson]

Robin, if you make it with another fabric and still find it’s too slim (or are worried it will be too slim and want to make a change before-hand), I would suggest adding a little width to the edges of the sleeve instead of cutting the sleeve a size larger. Keep the cap of the sleeve the same, but add 1/4″ or so to the sides of the sleeve and gradually blend into the bicep so the sleeve shape doesn’t change at the very top. Basically, you’re adding a very, very skinny pie wedge to the sides of the sleeve: fat end of the pie wedge at the wrist.

Holler if you want a messy diagram: I’m good at those.

[Anonymous]

I made this top in a size 5 for my daughter and it fits fine in the arms. I just used the cheapo poly/cotton knit from JoAnn. It probably helps that she’s a skinny minny!

[Robin]

I understand what you are describing Liesl. I’ll make the Hopscotch dress with the CW knit. I do enjoy just petting the fabric.

This is an amazing community of sewists. Thanks for the feedback.

[JohannaO]

I just screwed up the courage to wash and dry my MM interlock again (along with my new yards of CW interlock) and it shrank 30%. I now have a 1 5/8 yards. Grrr. My CW- only 8%. Well, at least all the laundry in my house got done!

[Justine J]

hmmmm…how many times should I wash knit before using it to sew with???

I’ve only washed my stash once – some CW & a mixed bag of other stuff. I’ve only used no-name knit so far (I’ve made 2 hopscotch dresses) but haven’t noticed any additional shrinkage with further washes – just lucky?? (I should add that I NEVER put anything made from knit in the dryer – the joy of living in Sydney – I really don’t use it very often!In fact – it’s been broken for 6 months!)

[Nicole]

I washed mine once, quick cycle , cold ! No further shrinkage, but I never put knits in the dryer ( except knickers and singlets and I deliberately size up for shrinkage)