An Eye-Searing Top + Me Made May 2015 pledge

This top ticks all my sewing form and function happiness boxes. It's loud, colorful and super close-fitting. It's also soft, stretchy, comfortable and stain-camouflaging: I DARE you to find any spit-up in this wild print. (OK, there isn't any — yet — but it is a daily hazard in my life as the mother of a 3-month-old baby).

And of course it's great for discreet(ish) breastfeeding!

Yes, I made the Jalie 2921 scarf-collar jersey top for the fourth time, my second time making it in a nursing version using the 'So, Zo...' breastfeeding top tutorial. This is my fifth and almost-final piece for the Small Human Being Sew-Along I did in April with Cindy and Clio (reminder: submit your sew-along projects here by May 7 to be part of the giveaways and roundup!).

See my wearable muslin version post for all the basic details.

So what's different in Version 4.0?

Well, the fabric, of course — this is a really lovely, soft, but sturdy and substantial rayon lycra knit from Mood with excellent recovery. Rayon lycra jersey ranges so widely in quality, and I've been disappointed many times before (curse you, Fabric.com!), but this is the good stuff. I've been wearing my first nursing version of this top constantly but I am always worried it is about to tear apart it is so thin.

I also changed up the elastic — I found the clear elastic recommended in the tutorial felt too flimsy to me for an opening that needed to be tugged at again and again. So I used a soft black ruffle-edged lingerie elastic from the stash, bought at Daytona Trimming some time back... you can see it here on the underlayer:

And I made the sleeveless version this time, though I ended up with the Dreaded Armhole Gape (I have the same problem with ready-to-wear sleeveless tops) and ended up sewing some random tucks to tighten the armholes and keep my bra covered. I know there is a way to fix this at the pattern stage, but I didn't bother.

Back view, sort of:

And yes, I used a zig-zag for topstitching, as I've been having some technical problems with twin needling. I'm going to make the attempt again, but I figured zig zags went with the zig-zag print. Right?

This top makes me really happy! I want to wear it EVERY day, but it's so distinctive I think people might notice? Maybe?

Though I gotta say having two kids makes even my cluttery sewing corner photo shoots night impossible... I was trying to get some photos of the top tucked in, but baby woke from his post-nursing nap and started to fuss, so I asked big girl to entertain her brother...

Which she happily did...

... Until he accidentally scratched her in the face with his baby Wolverine claws (we DID almost name him Logan, so maybe this is our fault) and I had to separate them.

Don't worry, they were best buddies again a few minutes later:

And here we are in me-made sweaters and hoodies in our official Me Made May 2 picture, on our way to get comics for Free Comic Book Day (husband took photo, as he had no me-mades on):

Oh, yes: Me Made May! Here's what I wrote in my signup:

I always love Me Made May! But I just had a baby and almost none of my me-mades fit, so I'm going to have to go easy on myself for this one: 'I, Mikhaela Reid of Polka Dot Overload, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavour to wear a me-made item at least three days per week for the duration of May 2015 (well, at least until I have to return to work at the end of the month)'

I'm not even sure if I'm going to recap my outfits here each week, but you can catch them all on my Instagram and I will do a big photo collage at the end.

But the embarrassment of wearing old maternity tops on Instagram has already inspired some frantic sewing and identification of wardrobe gaps (or chasms, really). I have an almost-complete gored denim skirt on the sewing table and a striped ruched-bust top copied from ready-to-wear in progress.

What are your criteria for a really happy make?

Done: A striped Jalie 2921 Scarf-Collar Top, hacked for nursing (SHB Sew-Along)

"Rip!"

Is not the sound you want to hear when you have a project that is actually turning out awesome, and you are managing to sew in ten-minute baby catnap-sized chunks, and it is just SO close to done, and...

I had snagged this tissue-thin unstable rayon-lycra jersey on a broken plastic piece of my sewing table insert while hemming, opening up a hole right over the bust area. I was not about to scrap this thing, given how hard it had been to cut out (like slicing through water, argh!), so I repaired it with a little hand-stitching, and I hope no one is looking close enough to notice!

This breastfeeding hack of my beloved Jalie 2921 scarf-collar jersey top is my fourth piece for the Small Human Being Sew-Along this month with Cindy and Clio.

The inspiration: Specialty nursing tops aren't necessary for breastfeeding – but I love them anyway. Any top that can be pulled up or down or unbuttoned can work... but I like to be able to get baby his lunch quickly without a cover, and I don't want to show off my belly. So easy access is key, and tops that open right above or right under the bust fit the bill.

Recently, I acquired a few nursing tops in a great front overlap style by Boob Designs, and while I love the way they work, I foolishly bought light, solid-colored ones that developed breastmilk stains almost immediately. Here's how the Boob Nursingwear tops function (in a smarter colorway, too):

So I decided to make my own versions in distracting stain-hiding prints.

The basics:

Pattern: Jalie 2921 scarf-collar top (basically a knit version of a bow-neck blouse!), hacked with the So Zo nursing top tutorial. I'd previously made this fantastic top pattern (not hacked for nursing) in a floral and polka-dot version, both of which I wear, and get complimented on, constantly, so it is a real TNT.

Fabric: Slippery thin striped (rayon lycra?) jersey knit with good recovery that I got for free in a fabric swap. Horribly thin and unstable while cutting and sewing (I was swearing a LOT while cutting) so I can see why its former owner ditched it.

Size: Because I still seem to be shrinking slowly post-birth and this fabric is super stretchy, I decided to stick with my usual size even though my bust, waist and hips are all 3" bigger than last time I made this thing. Which is a size S (34" bust) overall, but a size V (37") for the bust and front sleeve armhole. My actual bust is 41.5" right now, so there's a lot of negative ease going on here.

Notions: 1/4" clear elastic for the bottom of the overlap and the top of the underlap. But I think next time I will use a heftier knit elastic, the clear stuff seems too flimsy to me for frequent nursing.

So it's maybe slightly TOO thin and clingy, but I think it will loosen up over time, and I personally rather a top be slightly too tight than too loose.

Instructions: Zoe's free tutorial was clear and thorough, and I found it easy to apply to this pattern I had already made several times. I did cheat a bit by just adding marks to my existing traced front pattern piece rather than creating new pattern pieces for the overlap and underlap, and it worked out fine.

Modifications: In her tutorial Zoe recommends the overlap ending 3/4 down the bust instead of under the bust, but I personally prefer the underbust line, so I moved it down. And the overlap front piece is split down the middle, but I made the underlap a single piece cut on the fold.

Construction notes: I made this all on the sewing machine with a zig-zag stitch, as I was visiting my mom and she doesn't have a serger. The fabric was so thin that it practically seemed to tear apart as I stitched, so I hope it holds up over time.

Side seam stripe matching win (nevermind the sleeves and shoulders):

How I found the time: I was visiting my parents when I cut and sewed most of this, and they held the little guy quite a bit while he was awake. I finished it when we returned to Brooklyn in very small chunks during baby's way-too-short naps.

Pretend nursing shot (baby was actually full, but you get the idea):

I've been trying to be more minimalist when going out with baby — no large bag, stroller, nursing cover, etc. So here I am about to pick up my daughter from Pre-K and take both kids to the playground... just wearing baby in a ring sling and carrying a diaper clutch with diapers, wipes, a change of clothes and my keys, ID and debit card. (My daughter wears her own small backpack with her Epi-Pens, water bottle and an allergy-friendly snack.):

Outfit details

Top: Made by Me
Leggings: Yummie Tummie by Heather Thomson compact shapewear leggings (scored on eBay for $3.50 due to a tiny flaw).
Diaper clutch: Skip Hop Pronto diaper changing clutch/station in a Jonathan Adler print, also scored on eBay.
Orange flats: Ahnu Karma ballet flats in Red Clay, bought on deep sale at Amazon. Ring sling: Sakura Bloom essential double-layered dupioni silk ring sling, can't remember the colorway as I bought it in 2010.

By the way, I do realize leggings are not actually trousers/pants/jeans. But since I don't have a single pair of non-maternity jeans that fit at the moment, I hope you'll forgive me. And these Yummie Tummie high-waisted tummy-control leggings are pretty amazing — thick and supportive and comfortable, and I immediately had people telling me "wow, you look great, getting in shape!" etc, even though my actual size and weight have not changed in over six weeks.

Oh, and I'll definitely make this top again, as this striped version was intended to be a wearable muslin. Next time in this chaotic Mood rayon lycra jersey, maybe in a sleeveless version:

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