Black on Black top (M6435)

1/4/13 Edited to add modeled photo:

 

One can never have too much black but it's nice to add a little interest so this pattern and some stretch lace fit the bill. Most photos are lightened to show detail of the black fabric.

McCalls 6435, View B
Size: I cut a 10 at the top and graded out to a 12 at the waist and hips. 
Fabric: Stretch lace and black slinky knit.

The example on the pattern doesn't appeal to me at all:

  
But the line drawing gives a better idea of what it could look like:

I used a great technique for finishing that I learned in Joi's workshop at the Novi American Sewing and Design Professionals Expo in September.  Starting with foldover elastic and fusible tape, I bound the neck edge and sleeve edges. Creates a stretchy finish that is neat and professional looking. I fused the tape onto the wrong side of the foldover elastic, right down the middle. Then, I pressed the elastic around the raw edge of the fabric. After a little trial and error, I found that I needed to stretch the foldover elastic slightly as I pressed, to avoid a stretched out sleeve. After pressing, stitch close to the edge (use an edge foot on your machine) to secure the binding. The pressing while stretching was a little fiddly at first, but I got the hang of it and am very happy with the end result. If you use this method, you will need to cut off the seam allowance before binding. I actually did not do that for this because I thought the neckline looked awfully low after I cut it out.

Here are some close ups of the bound sleeves and bound neckline.

I plan to wear with the glimmery skirt from last post but Mark put in a request that I wear this with some jeans and high heels: