Singing the Jalie Roll Blues:

Jalie 2921 Black Slinky Top

I had 25 inches of the wonderful Christine Jonson black slinky left over from my last project and didn't want it to go to waste. (I think the CJ slinky fabrics are some of the best on the market.) Anyway, I am on a Jalie roll, since I had such good luck with the Jalie pleated cardi top I made two weeks ago. I chose Jalie 2921 and had to shorten it 3 inches at the hemline (not enough fabric), which ended up being the perfect length for me.

I fiddled with a photo to lighten it a bit so you can  see the detail better:

 For such a simple project, there were not many changes to be made, but I made a few. First of all, the opening for the scarf was unattractive to me:

 A pinch of the fabric and a couple of hand stitches fixed that quickly:

 Next, I decided that I didn't want to simply turn and topstitch the armhole openings as directed in the pattern instructions. I first serged the edges to make them look pretty. Then I stayed the armhole openings on the inside with clear elastic tape, using the teflon foot on my sewing machine and a multistitch zig zag stitch (wrong side shown here):

Then I turned the fabric under and topstitched using my Janome 1000CP coverstitch machine. Here's an extreme closeup:

If I had had more of the leftover fabric, I possibly would have made a full facing, using the front and back pattern pieces shortened for an unhemmed lower edge a couple of inches below the bust. That always gives a nice armhole edge. Even so, I probably would have stayed that edge with clear elastic as well, since slinky has weight and drape, and I wouldn't want the armholes to grow longer.

I also stayed the shoulder seams with clear elastic, which I do on all of my knit garment projects.

The ties are shorter than the pattern calls for, since I did not have enough fabric to make them the really long length shown on the pattern (see how they hang below the hem of the top in the sleeveless version shown on the pattern photo above). I actually like the ties the shorter length, so it worked out okay.

I really like the look of this top, slimming with a nice neckline detail. I may make it again soon.

Patti asked: what is the width of the fabric, and is it acetate or poly slinky.

The slinky came from Christine Jonson and she only sold acetate/lycra slinky fabric, as I recall. Acetate slinky is reputed to be heavier, drapier, and breathes better than poly slinky. It's the same type of slinky that Chicos uses.

The fabric is 60 inches wide, so for this pattern, you need enough for the length of the top, assuming you don't want extra long ties.