A Heavily Modified Koos (V2971) Top

V2971, a Koos Couture by Koos van den Akker pattern, was one of the patterns I was trying to give away earlier this month.  I was a bit surprised not to have any takers for it, so decided I should have a go at it myself and see if it was a 'worth it' pattern or not.  On close examination of the line drawings I thought the top would need modification for my body shape (looks to suit broader shoulders and a larger bust) and that the skirt looked an interesting shape (ignoring all the trim, which is not my cup of tea) but time consuming to make.

I opted for the top. Here's the final result:

and this is how it looks with ties undone (+ an odd filter applied in Picasa for seam highlights):

You'll probably see me wearing this top soon in Me-Made-May '12, which is why I've not bothered presenting you with a self-portrait...

FYI this is how it looked on the pattern envelope - unprepossessing, to be honest!

 but on the Vogue patterns website there's this close-up:

and ooh - I see I missed something! So my top is not finished - there's a 2cm piece of stitching still required!


Anyway, as is, this is my favourite part:

and right nearby, this is my least favourite - I don't particularly like gathers on the sleeve cap of a stretch top, but as the owner of the obviously flawed modifications I take full responsibility:

I made so many changes that it seems only fair to show the original and modified pattern pieces.  My modified version is on the white tissue paper; the brown tissue is the original V2971 pattern pieces.

• changes to the back neckline, shoulders and arm scye, including new darts below the shoulders:

• changes to the front shoulders, arm scye and bodice width - but removing bodice width also affected the length of the ties. Mine aren't quite long enough to do up at the back:

• changes to the shape of the sleeve cap (and sleeve length, not shown):

If you're thinking of making this top, it's probably also worth mentioning that the sizing seems large. Normally I'd make a size 12 in tops, and this is a stretch fabric pattern (ie the sizing should already take stretch fabric into account - but perhaps it doesn't?) but a size 10 was a good fit for me, even with that large amount of width taken out of the front pattern piece.

Overall I like the fit of this heavily modified pattern, and I like that this top cost me peanuts - I think the pattern was $4, but the fabric (Lyocell I think) was left over from a project a long time ago (therefore free), as was the white thread. I don't know how useful it's going to be, but I guess it's a bit of variety for my wardrobe!


I'll try to get around to writing a proper review over at Pattern Review as there were a couple of steps in the pattern that I ignored and did my own way. If you're thinking of making this top please feel free to email me - I made notes on the pattern instructions as I went and I'll be happy to pass those on.