Crazy for Coco

Today, I thought I'd share with you a little summary of my love affair this spring with Coco by Tilly and the Buttons. You'll see the adjustments I made to the pattern, my likes and dislikes, and a few tips I learned along the way in making these four versions.

1. Floral embroidery, 2. Red and navy stripe, 3. Laverne style, 4. Black and white stripe

My adjustments: 

• Shortened the sleeves. This isn't included in the pattern as an option, but I used a sleeve I like as a guide for the length. Texas is hot! I can get more wear out of a short-sleeved tee. 
• 3/8" forward shoulder adjustment.
• 1/4" added to top of sleeve cap so the sleeve hem would sit straight across my arm (as opposed to riding up a bit at the outside, which I find makes my arms look chubbier). 
• Sewed up the vents, as I found they made me look too hippy.

Likes about the pattern: 

• Great introduction to sewing with knits, especially if you rely on Tilly's Sew Along. This was my first time sewing with knits, and it was a superb pattern to start with!
• Fast to sew up. Nothing like getting a new top in just a few hours of stitching.
• Easy fitting. Knit is so forgiving! 
• Great everyday style with lots of ways to customize. 
• Nice shape. There is quite a bit of curve in the side seam, which I really like. 

Dislikes about the pattern: 

Not one, I'm crazy for it don't ya know?

I did have one, but Tilly is amazing and already fixed it! I bought my pattern and fabric online at the same time, and originally the shop page for Coco had fabric requirements for the maximum amount (the dress with 3/4 sleeve). I ended up with way too much fabric. I contacted Tilly, and she amended the shop page to clarify fabric requirements for the different pattern variations. Note that distinction is already in the pattern booklet. Tilly is the best!

Tips:

1. Take special care that your stay stitching is accurate.
   You'll use this as a guide for turning your neckline, so if it's wobbly, your neckline won't look right. I guess I'm usually sloppy with my stay stitching, as I had to rip some of my stay stitches after finishing the neckline on my first version.
2. I preferred ribbon to stay tape for stabilizing the shoulder seam and neckline.
   It's much softer. At the shoulder seam, you'll feel whatever you put there against your skin, and I found the stay tape to be a bit scratchy.
3. If you're using a serger, attach the ribbon at the shoulder seam when you serge the seam.
   I saw this on Dixie DIY's "Never Fear Knits" series. I found that seam to be a little bulky, so it helped not to have an extra row of stitching. Plus, it's quicker!
4. Baste the underarm seam before you stitch it to make sure it matches.
   This is challenging to navigate on a serger as it is, so it's nice to have that step out of the way. You can also make sure your seam allowances are pointed down when you baste. 
5. When matching stripes, use the first half of a cut pattern piece as a template for the second.
   This is the easiest way I've found to match patterns while cutting! See a photo with this stripe-matching technique.