Danielle Relaxed Fit Batwing Knit Top

The Danielle relaxed fit batwing knit top by Sinclair Patterns is versatile, flattering, and comfortable. Sew it up with some loose weave knit fabric, and it becomes the perfect spring sweater.

About the Pattern

What drew me to the Danielle top was the silhouette and the cross-strap detail on the back, and it does not disappoint. I wasn’t looking forward to wading through the typical Sinclair instructions, but I discovered the key to making them bearable: skim. I wouldn’t normally recommend that when it comes to reading sewing instructions, but it definitely made me happier this time around. Since the instructions from this designer tend to confuse me more than anything, I read the major line-item steps (i.e. 1: finish the shoulder and side seams, 2: prepare straps), and then looked at the photos to see the process and the end product for each step. Then I skimmed the details in case there was anything vital to catch (such as using interfacing or fabric recommendations), and then filled in the holes myself.

That technique was definitely helpful when it came to the neck binding. I’d never done a binding like that before, and reading through it beforehand led to some choice letter combinations (WTF?) When the time came to execute, I relied heavily on the photos and common sense as I was fiddling with the fabric. Success!

About the Fabric

The bodice and straps are made from a loose weave sweater knit I scored in my Boho Fabrics clearance box. It’s a rather slinky fabric, and slinky + stretchy makes for a more challenging sew. The cut edges shed a decent amount of little fibers, but nothing overwhelming, and the loose weave made me just a tad nervous feeding it through my machine. But, with a little stabilizer at the start of every seam, my machine sewed it up like a pro. I also had to hone my technique a little while feeding it so it wouldn’t slide off kilter. A lot of people use walking feet to that end, but I hate walking feet. I stick with my standard zig-zag foot and I love every second of it. All I had to do to compensate on this sweater knit was keep a finger along the left side of my presser foot to gently push the fabric inward.

This fabric also played really well the fusible knit interfacing on the straps. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised how cooperative it was, and stoked that it was only around $2 a yard.

The cuffs and bottom band are a solid stone grey DBP from Made of Love Fabrics.

The neck binding (shown below, only visible on the inside of the garment) is a mystery knit I found months ago at Hobby Lobby, out of which I’ve also made a pair of ABB Leggings and a Dandelion dress. It’s pretty lightweight, but has quite a bit of structure and recovery. It also blended well with the sweater knit. The instructions called for a “minimal stretch” fabric, so while this mystery knit has a good amount of stretch, I think the structure and recovery is what made it work so well in this application. I was a little concerned about this part turning out well after having seen a few different photos of other makes on the Facebook group that didn’t look so great.

Notes for Next Time

I can’t think of anything I would change for next time, other than trying other fabrics and color blocking ideas. Possibly lengthening the band a bit more? Pulling it all the way down turns it into a pretty sweet-looking dress. The band at it’s current length is just a tad short for me to feel comfortable wearing it in public as a dress.

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