One Cowl Neck Pattern Three Ways

I love being able to use one pattern for several different looks, and these adaptions of a basic cowl neck top are a lot of fun!  First I have to give credit to Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns, these looks come from her last webcast - Great Holiday Dressing.  I highly suggest you watch the webcast yourself for more specific directions - I did not include all of the details here.

These looks all start with Silhouette pattern's Ann's Top.  Here is a picture of the top with no alterations to the pattern:

I included the above close up to focus on the fit of the shoulder.  When I make this top again I will increase the length of the shoulder by at least 3/4".  In the above picture you can see the shoulder seam is significantly shorter than the actual length of my shoulder.  You can also see that the length of the top is a bit shorter than what is in style today; it hits right at the waist line.  It's a pretty easy adjustment to add length to whatever is comfortable for you.  I would also recommend that before cutting out this pattern, measure the width of the arm, this is a pretty slim fitting arm.  Last, I would consider doubling the width of the cowl for a more generous cowl - it's just more fun!

The below version of this pattern is a knockoff a Michael Kors.  Believe it or not, this is the same cowl neck pattern with the bottom of the pattern extended to be wide enough to cover your shoulders.  In this example, the bottom of the pattern has 5" added to all side seams for a total of 20 additional inches.  This became a Christmas present for my sister-in-law, she looks great doesn't she?  And yes, the fringe was applied by hand, at least 60 different pieces individually applied to the neck line.  To apply the fringe you cut a tiny hole and feed the fringe through then knot.  One piece of advice not included in the webcast - if using a sweater knit, interface the neck edge before cutting holes for fringe.  Thankfully I experimented on some extra fabric, and I learned that no matter how small the hole, once I knotted the fringe the hole would more than double in size because the sweater knit would stretch out of shape.   A 1/2" wide strip of interfacing around the edge stabilized the knit enough so that the holes didn't stretch out.

Michael Kors Fringe Sweater

This last version of the cowl neck is a knockoff of a Ralph Lauren and expands upon the above version of the extended neckline.  This time rather than just a single layer, the fabric for the cowl in doubled.  The rouching around the neckline is created by adding a tie around the neckline.  This top was also created using a sweater knit.  Again I recommend stabilizing the knit with interfacing at stress points.  For this design I added two metal eyelets at the center to feed the tie through.  Interfacing the area where the eyelets will be applied will prevent the eyelets from being pulled away from the fabric.  Below is also a close up of the rouched cowl neck.

 

Ralph Lauren Funnel Neck Top