Kestrel Makes: FO: A Riot of Scouts

Nobody who reads sewing blogs needs me to tell them about the Grainline Scout Tee. It's super popular among fans of Indie Patterns, and I have now made 6 of them. During that time I have done a bit of work on the fit - lengthened by 3 inches, done a broad shoulder adjustment and most recently, a hollow chest adjustment which sorted out the issue of a gaping neckline.

During May I made 3 versions of the pattern;

I was going to call this post 'A Trio of Scouts' but when I looked at this picture of my three recently-made Scouts together, with their clashing patterns, I thought 'A Riot of Scouts' was more appropriate. Plus riot uses the same letters as trio, which I find very pleasing.

Here's my trio in action:

From left to right they are:
1. Wearable muslin to test hollow chest adjustment, made from a bargain £5/m Liberty Tana lawn. I'm not wild about the fabric but it's nice for a Spring/Summer wardrobe
2. Made from a voluminous 1970s cotton lawn dress I planned to re-style, but it wasn't working so I started from scratch. I kept the pin tuck detail on the sleeves and finished the neckline with turquoise bias binding from my stash
3. Made from a beloved Liberty Tana Lawn. I love it and the Scout is perfect to show off a great patterned fabric.

Here are a couple of detail shots:

Look how well the neckline lies, plus I just adore this fabric, combining favourite colours of mine

Pintuck detail on sleeves. I love the turquoise flowers

Although the standard alteration I always make to patterns is lengthening, I have been wearing high waisted jeans recently and wonder if a shorter length is actually more flattering and practical with this style. I decided to take up the hem of my wearable muslin version and like the result.

Maybe it's actually better? I'm not sure. If this length also worked better with skirts too, it would be worth considering some further hem chopping.

For now though, I'm going to give Scout a break and move on to something else. All 6 of my versions are getting regular wear and I'm delighted to have put in the time to work on the fit so it'll be ready for me to return to in the future.

K x

23 comments:

Marilla Walker18 June 2015 at 08:46
Great fabrics! I love getting good value out of a pattern and you've definitely done that here. I've been shortening and shortening tops loads recently and am finding cropped lengths are working really well with skirts, which I did not imagine myself feeling comfortable with, but as the low waists move out of my wardrobe the cropped tops are moving in! ;-)
Anonymous18 June 2015 at 09:15
I have made several high waisted skirts this year and I find that a cropped top works really well with them - much shorter than I would dream of wearing with jeans! I love all the prints - lightweight woven tips are perfect for summer - feels more put together than a tshirt

Louide
Vix18 June 2015 at 11:27
Yours is one of the few sewing blogs I follow so this is completely new to me and fabulous! Gorgeous selcetion of print & colour and modelled perfectly! xxx
Philippa18 June 2015 at 11:59
These do look really good. Your work on the fit has paid off. I have this dilemma with tops so often, as I have a mixture of higher and lower waisted bottom halves, but I am preferring natural waistline styles most of all at the moment and they look really good with tucked in tops. Just a thought! x
shivani18 June 2015 at 14:50
lovely trio/riot! I agree that the shorter length is more flattering. this is a great pattern - I've made it up twice in knits recently, and they turned out so well. It's a great pattern for showcasing a beautiful fabric, as you say. I need to revisit it to make some woven tops, but I'm going to have to go back to muslins because of a slight change in size/shape, which is putting me off a bit. x
niddetissus18 June 2015 at 15:54
Ver flattering - I love all tnree versions. I had a RTW top in that last fabric. I didn't know it was a Liberty!
Veronica18 June 2015 at 16:39
Yay! Yes, I like cropped, or would like to see a version from you! Great fabrics! I've said it before, but I do not do woven tops... only on dresses... for some reason I feel weird!
LLBB18 June 2015 at 16:56
That blue and green geometric fabric is amazing!!
Mother of Reinvention18 June 2015 at 18:48
Those are lovely tops and great that the pattern is for a woven. I love the turquoise and blue fabric, beautiful colours. It seems a very versatile pattern. Xx
Scruffybadger18 June 2015 at 20:30
Love them all and it's great that it's been worth making it your go to summer top pattern for showcasing your wild prints!! Got me all inspired!!
Minnado19 June 2015 at 07:10
They are lovely. I like the pintuck detail on the sleeve. I'm wearing a shorter top today and agree it's better with high waisted skirts or trousers.
Tasha19 June 2015 at 14:26
I love your riot of Scouts! What a great wardrobe stable and a good blank palette for fun fabrics like this. The fit looks great on you (I like both lengths!). I'm really working towards sewing less this year (sounds weird, I know) and focusing on more specific needs, and I think some Liberty needs to factor into that for sure. You're inspiring me! ;)
Alison19 June 2015 at 16:18
Your tops are gorgeous, such a good pattern to show off fantastic fabric!
peppylady (Dora)19 June 2015 at 17:28
Stop in for Vintage Vixen. It been a long time since I've done and sewing and patterns where still under four dollars.
They do look comfortable.
My project now is rag rugs.

If you find the time stop on in and coffee is on
Anonymous19 June 2015 at 18:34
I LOVE these! You got the fit at the neck spot on! The fabrics you chose are fantastic. I bet these will be worn constantly! :-D
Kathryn20 June 2015 at 07:29
These looks brilliant, such a good fit and such gorgeous fabrics! I know I need to stop being lazy and make some fit changes, probably a broad shoulder adjustment as my 1st 2 scouts are too tight under the arms. I made another recently but just went up a size, a lazy solution & it didn't really work as it's now too big (what a surprise eh?!). It's funny how your ideas on things change, I always used to lengthen tops too but am now thinking like you that I might try the shorter length.
Dibs21 June 2015 at 16:01
Your tops look lovely. I'm sure I am the only one on earth who does not have this pattern. How easy is it to make up?