Hack-o-rama (Vogue 8877): Part One

I almost called this post "dudded", because that's how I felt after I first tried my original version of this top on. 

You see I made the fatal mistake of thinking that my top would turn out looking like the pattern illustration; loose but not overly baggy, a kind of woven spliced tee. 

(Now funnily enough I've just read this post by Gertie explaining pattern illustrations vs reality ,in her case with regards to vintage patterns, but I think it's pretty much still true today). 

What I got was a baggy top with MUCH longer than expected sleeves (please note I made view "A").
Now in hindsight (and after trying it on for the first time) I realised that a woven dolman sleeve top with no fastenings whatsoever was going to need to have a fair bit of ease to be able to get it on/off and actually move around in it! Also the fact that there were no darts anywhere suggested that it wouldn't have much shape. 
Duh. Yeah it was one of those "lightbulb" moments when I finally figured this ;P
But the sleeves,oh the sleeves!
On the illustration (yep there I went again taking a pattern drawing to be absolute gospel) they looked to end halfway between shoulder and elbow....
But in reality they were much closer to actual elbow length (more like view "B").

Now I'm 5ft 9", so not short by any definition, but I still had to hack off at least 2 inches to get the top to look somewhat more like what I was expecting. This was done progressively by trying it on then trimming a bit off each time until I got the sleeves where I wanted. I actually changed the angle of the sleeve end as well during the trimming, making it a more "steeper" angle than the original, as that's what looked better to my (amateur) eye.
To tell the truth by this stage of the project I thought the whole thing was going to be a total wadder and was desperate to try and save it in any way. I was so miffed at having used my lovely blue and white fabric (that had been gifted to me by a friend) that I was pretty brutal with the roller cutter. 
It could have very easily gone quite badly...or at least have turned into a sleeveless tank top ;)

The original sleeves were also much wider than expected. I felt like someone wearing one of those costumes where the sleeves are made from aircon vent tubes (never seen one? I did try to find you a picture, lets just say when you google "foil" "costume" and "man" some pretty strange things come up!), they felt that weird and billowy. 
Again I realised that with a dolman sleeve they would have to be pretty wide, otherwise you would never be able to raise your arms. Hindsight is a smug so-and-so some days.
 I made this top one size below what the size guide recommended (I did check the finished garment measurements first to make sure they were bigger than my own bust and waist) and can only imagine how much looser it would have been if I have made it in my "proper" size.

To be continued....