Tutorial Tuesday: Lace/Mesh Top Inspired by "Jasmine" from Parenthood

I started watching Parenthood when my son's former ABA therapist told me that, on the show, a young actor plays a boy with autism. Of course, I couldn't resist wondering how the show would portray an autistic kid since, hello, this is my life! Anyway, the show is amazing and they have done a wonderful job. Since watching the show, I have also become equally smitten by all the cute tops and dresses worn by the actors, particularly, "Jasmine" played by Joy Bryant.

I absolutely loved this Helmet Lang top she wore this past season and thought that maybe I could emulate it by using a reverse applique technique (sewing material on top of sweater and then cutting underneath). I also decided to use lace, which I have a lot of, instead of the mesh-like material from the original top.  

What I liked most about the top were the long strips on the side going across the bodice and the arms. I then had to be lead by the sweater I bought; there were some stains I had not noticed and needed to cover those. That's what I get for buying a $1.00 sweater.

Materials:

-Sweater
-lace or mesh material
-scissors
-thread
-sewing machine (you can hand sew but I have not tried it this way)

Here's the sweater I bought for this project. I wanted a lighter grey like "Jasmine's" but I couldn't find it in that color so I settled on this darker grey I found for a $1.00

It was a mens extra large so I re-sized it using a top that fits me well. I stitched the top of the sleeves and the sides.

 Now that's better.

I wasn't following "Jasmine's" top to the letter as I knew I wanted one of the lace pieces to go on top of my chest area. I love working with triangles so I chose that basic shape, placed it, pinned it, and then sewed it in place. 

 This is what it looks like when you turn it inside out.

Before cutting,  I grabbed the lace from underneath to make sure it didn't get caught when I started to cut the top part of the sweater.

 

 I always start by making a hole and then proceed to cut.

 Make sure to cut inside of the shape. Do not cut across the thread line.

More cutting

This is what it looks like when done cutting (from the inside out)

I used this technique on the arm and shoulder bands similar to "Jasmine's". Now I had to cover the stains on the bottom of the sweater. Do you see them?

 

I used another triangle piece to cover them, stitched in place,

turned it around, and cut the sweater part revealing the lace underneath.

Peek-a-boo, I think you can see my bellybutton.

Here's the long strip like "Jasmine's", although it doesn't cut across the bodice like her's. 

I like the way the arm lace band looks.

I made some lace cut outs in the back too. I sort of went a litle crazy with them. 

I think what I will do next time is,1.choose a sweater that does not have stains so that my design is not guided by the sweater and 2. cut the sweater apart at the seams, add the lace strips and then sew back together. It was difficult to maneuver the sweater, already assembled, through my sewing machine .  

All in all, I like the finished product and will definitely wear it out and about, especially when it gets warmer. 

What do you think? Do any of you watch Parenthood?