Every last scrap - BWOF 7/2007 105b

So after I finished this top on Mother's Day there were still some reasonable sized scraps of the wool left over.  They sat on my cutting table for days - too big to throw away but too small to make anything out of.  Then I remembered some black and white striped ponte knit from an unblogged project last year and I had a lightbulb moment.  The lighting in today's photos is terrible - it's dark, dreary and pouring with rain - I will attempt to find a better background and lighting next time.

Camera doesn't like the stripes but you get the idea.

If you have a copy of this old Burda World of Fashion (BWOF) from 2007 you'll know that it's not an exact copy of the pattern - it actually has a cut out at the back with a sweet little tie.  I'm really not that sweet so I just went with the standard back.  My Mum hates tops that are decorated on the front and completely plain on the back so Mum, this one's for you.  

Looking at the photo I think I could add a bit more room down the centre back, but it doesn't feel too tight.  This is actually the third time I've used this pattern (you can see my other two version here on day 1 and here on day 11 and 14).  This time I cut a size 44 up top, as previously I'd found it very tight in the arm and shoulder area, and graded down to a 42 at the waist.  I just eyeballed the placement of the striped section.  The downside of using scraps is the difficulty with pattern placement and dealing with any faults in the fabric.  I found an 8cm section that hadn't knitted together (after I'd cut out the lower back) thankfully I was able to stitch it back together and then I added some fusible stretch interfacing for extra stability.  I also had to cut the sleeves on the cross grain to get the pattern pieces to fit - not a big deal as this fabric had pretty even two way stretch.

Before I fixed it.

This has been a nice little addition to my wardrobe - very simple but I love it.