Estherlyn’s Tobago Jumper – MMUp Reveal and Alterations

As a quick reminder, August’s Monthly MashUp mash-a-long schedule is:

Thursday 8/7: Introduce the patterns and open the giveaway (giveaway ends on 8/20 at midnight EST)
Thursday 8/14: Reveal the MashUp, alter the patterns, and open the link up (open until 8/27 at midnight EST)
Thursday 8/21: Begin sewing the MashUp with the Giveaway winner announced on Facebook and Instagram
Thursday 8/28: Share the details of the MashUp and features from the link up

In today’s installment of the Monthly MashUp (MMUp) mash-a-long we’ll go over how to alter the pattern pieces for mashing and open the link up.  But first, I know you’ve been eagerly anticipating the big reveal…..drum roll please…..

As a reminder, I used the neckline of the Tobago Tank from Sis Boom and the skirt/apron portion of the Estherlyn’s Jumper from The Merry Church Mouse.

The Tobago Tank has v-notched or curved collar options, but I really liked the v-notched tank I made so I stuck with the v for the MMUp.  It’s hard to see in the picture above because the front v is a bit lower than the back opening, but you can zoom in on the picture to see the detail.

Since I made size 3T for Bean, the back is open at the neckline (in the larger sizes there isn’t a need for an opening) so I used ties made from the bodice fabric to make a bow.

At this point in the mash-a-long I hope you’ve had a chance to make a muslin of both of the patterns.  For reference, I used size 3 for both of the patterns and the fit was great so that’s the size I used for my MMUp.  If you haven’t purchased them yet you can get the Estherlyn’s Jumper here and the Tobago Tank here.  And the giveaway is open until the 20th so there’s still time to enter to win your copies.

The pieces that will need to be traced from the Tobago Tank are: Front, Front Facing, Back, and Back Facing.  The Front and Back pieces only need to be traced down about an inch or two below the armscye. Keep in mind that none of these illustrations are to scale.  They are meant for reference only.

The pieces that will need to be traced from the Estherlyn’s Jumper are: Bodice Back, Bodice Front, Skirt Back, Skirt Front, and Apron.  All of these pieces will need to be fully traced.

Mark the seam allowances on the Estherlyn Bodice Front and Skirt Front and temporarily overlap them at the seamline.  Remember that the Estherlyn Seam allowance is 3/8″.

Mark seam allowances on the Tobago Front and line up the center front and lower armscye with the center front and lower armscye of the Estherlyn Front.  Treat the Estherlyn Bodice and Skirt as one for this step.

Trace the Tobago at the neckline and armscye and continue around along the Estherlyn seamlines.

I want to use the v-notched neckline of the Tobago, but when the Front Facing is matched up to the MMUp the notch marks are below the bodice and skirt seamline.  To fix this problem, we will both drop the seamline by 1/2″ AND raise the lower mark of the v about 1/4″ so that it rests above the new seamline.  This will slightly change the angle of the v-notch, but it will still be a lovely shape and won’t affect how it’s sewn.  Transfer the new lower notch mark to the Front Facing.  This is the only change that is necessary for the Front Facing pattern piece so it can then be set aside.

Separate the Bodice Front and Skirt Front across the new seamline.  Add seam allowances back in and the two front pieces are complete.  Use 1/4″ seam allowance for the neck, shoulder, and armscye seams and use 3/8″ and the original Estherlyn Jumper hem allowance for the rest of the seams in order to make the sewing instructions easier to follow.

In order to match the Apron to the new Skirt Front, take the original Estherlyn’s Jumper Skirt Front (including seam allowances) and match it to the original Apron at the armscye.  Then take the new Skirt Front (including seam allowances) and line it up with the original skirt front along the side, center, and hemline.  We didn’t alter those parts of the pattern so they should line up nicely.  Starting at the lower armscye of the new Skirt Front, trace up to the top left edge and extend the line out to the original Apron.  Continue tracing around the original Apron to get the new Apron piece with seam allowances included.

Moving on to the back, mark in the 3/8″ seam allowances on the Estherlyn’s Jumper Back Skirt and Back Bodice pieces.  Temporarily join the pieces at the seamline as you did with the front.

Mark the 1/4″ seam allowances on the Tobago Tank Back and match it up with the joined Estherlyn’s Jumper back, lining up the lower armscye seamlines and center backs.

Starting at the lower armscye, trace up and around the Tobago shoulder and back neckline, continuing down and around the skirt at the Estherlyn’s Jumper seam and hemline.

To match the change in the Bodice/Skirt seamline we made for the front, redraw the seamline 1/2″ below the original.  Separate the two back pattern pieces and add the seam allowances.  The neck, shoulder, and armscye seams should be 1/4″ and the bodice/skirt seam and the rest of the skirt seams should be 3/8″.

Now all of the pattern pieces are ready for the MMUp.  The Tobago Tank Front Facing had a minor change to move the lower v mark up 1/4″, but the only pattern piece that we don’t need to alter, yet will still use is the Tobago Tank Back Facing.  The rest of the pattern pieces we altered: Skirt Front, Skirt Back, Apron, Bodice Front, and Bodice Back.

Next week we will tackle the sewing portion of the mash-a-long, but in the meantime the Link Up will be open below.  The last Thursday of August I will feature some of the linked MashUps along with more pictures of Bean in her Estherlyn’s Tobago and details about the fabrics I used.  Feel free to Link Up ANY MashUps you’ve made in the past two months.  It does not need to be clothing – think purses – but it does need to have at least two patterns that you’ve altered in some way to make a fresh look.

Be sure to follow the Monthly MashUp Pinterest board if you’d like some more inspiration for garments to mash and I’d love you to share the Monthly MashUp button somewhere on your blog: