Pattern Testing the Parker Peplum Part # 2

As promised, here are my progress images from pattern testing the Parker Peplum by Seen & Sewn Patterns!

First things first, I had to cut and piece together all of the pattern pieces. Then I figured out my fabric choices and started pinning down the pieces. Next step was cutting out each piece.

After that I did what I usually do for sewing projects, I serged all of my cut pieces. This wasn't really a step in the pattern instructions, but I tend to do this for everything I sew. Since it's knitwear I could have serged the pieces together, but I wanted to sew them together and then decide if I wanted to press seams open (little difficult with zig zag stitches) or serge them together.

Next was the sewing part. The instructions were easy to follow and I liked that it had accompanying images to check what you're doing at each step. The pattern is pretty straight forward. You sew one shoulder seam, put the neck binding in, sew the other shoulder seam, and finish the top by sewing the side seams together. One thing I did tweak was I chose to hand stitch my neck binding and my sleeve hems. I enjoy hand sewing and since I had time to kill I elected to do that over using my machine.

After the top is together you sew the sides of the peplum skirt together. I made sure to match my stripes for my skirt. Then with right sides together you simply sew the skirt to the top's bottom. There's no need for gathering stitches or pleats or darts. Like I said, it's a very straight forward, easy knit pattern. Plus without all of the fuss it's very cozy to wear. Since there are different versions of the top - short sleeve, long sleeve, no peplum - the sleeves are the last step if you chose to do the long sleeve peplum version. Since I don't own a lot of casual long sleeve tops I chose to make my Parker Peplum with the long sleeves. You simply sew the sleeve side together, do the binding hem, and set the sleeves in. This would be great for a beginner or someone who wants more practice sewing sleeves. 

To finish it off I re-serged the hem of the peplum so that I got the side seams "tacked" down. I wish the length of the peplum was a little bit longer (maybe 2") so I chose to simply leave the hem as it with the bottom just serged. It looks great and if after wearing it a few times I want to add length I have enough of the black fabric I could just extend the hem length no problem. 

Overall it was a fun sew! The pattern is straight forward, the instructions easy to follow, and the end result is a soft, cozy, winter top.