I got out to the mall yesterdy and wanted to show a couple of fun details from the Anthropologie stuff I tried on. The first is this ruffled tank called the Cherimoya Blouse. It retails for $118 on the Anthropologie site.
In person, there is this cool optical illusion.
At first glance, there seems to be a few more layers of ruffles. In fact, all they did was sew three pintucks at the bottom of each ruffle layer. This adds the illusion of depth.
Here on the Profiterole Blouse the ruffles are edged out in a bias trim.
Rather than just ruffle them and sew them down, they are ruffled a little, then stitched down the midde in a circular / rosette pattern. Really pretty. I’m going to try and approximate the contrast trim with a serger rolled hem. It would probably work best with Wooly Nylon. But, Wooly Nylon and I don’t talk.
Miss Celie's Pants 
Very pretty. Wooly nylon and I don’t communicate well either. Mine always breaks. I’d love to know how to get it to work. There are a bunch of instructions floating around on how to do those roses. Most recently in the latest issue of Threads. Are these both woven fabrics?
If I have time today (ha!) I’ll try to run to the local Anthropologie and check out that Profiterole top. I really like that! I would try using pearl cotton instead of wooly nylon. Another thing to try is a narrow overlock (use similar machine settings as the rolled hem, but keep the tensions on the lower looper between 4-6, does that make sense?)
Oh, I forgot to mention – bump up the upper looper tension to about a 6 when you make the narrow overlock. Need more coffee….
Lucky duck! You can actually find Anthropologie clothes in person? And what’s more, you know how they made those cute details. Whoo! Cool beans.
Ann beat me to it! Those are my suggestions exactly…plus a cotton thread will give you a denser color for the outer edge if you follow Ann’s instructions!
Thank you so much for sharing those pics. The closest anthro to me is 3 hours away, which is probably a good thing for my pocketbook. I always like to see how designers create their effects on clothing.
Why oh why is it that I like something that would look horrible on me. I love the Profiterole Blouse but that would make me look like a stuffed rooster…sigh.
Have a great weekend.
Do your thang! Sorry to hear about your fight with Wooly Nylon. It’s actually a close friend of mine these days. lol.
$118? For a shirt? You could make one for A LOT Less, and it would look much better. I’ll be looking forward to your review…lol
That’s gorgeous! I’d love to see your version.
Tagging onto Ann’s comment, I just read something in Claire Shaeffer’s “High-fashion Sewing Secrets” about doing an overlock hem with rayon thread. It has a really pretty sheen (she upped the glitz further with metallic thread) but maybe it would be maddening to work with. She recommends a “thread net” to minimize tangling.
I like the detail of the striped top–the tucks at the bottom of the ruffle. I am wondering–the ruffled rosette trim–is that ruffle heavy? Is the neckline stabilized to be able to hold that ruffle?
I think that you have earned the title of *Mystery Sewist Shopper!* Thanks for the detailed photos and the construction scoop.
Great details, thanks for sharing. I especially like the tucks in the ruffles.
Great tips. I’vew been wanting to say this for a while, I always enjoy your sense of humor!
Yeppers! Very cute tops and you could knock those out easily.
I have been looking at similar design details to the Cherimoya top. I bought Simplicity 2725 as a starting place to duplicate something like this. Both of those tops are very pretty. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
OOOOOOOOOOOO! I can’t wait to see your version.
Wow, your Anthropologie dressing room photos are much better than mine. What kind of camera?
Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one. I made a dress recently with a ruffle down the front and I wrestled with it quite a bit. I ended up interfacing the whole panel underneath the ruffle. I’ve never used woolly nylon. I keep promising myself that I will actually learn how to use my overlocker … properly …
*sigh* soooo pretty!@ Thanks so much for the detail shots – I can never get the Anth. website to work for me!
Oooooh, thanks for the details. Love the pintuck idea to create an optical illusion using stripes.
An alternative opinion–but tinged with gratitude for your blogwork. How about really practicing with that narrow bias application foot. All that work deserves a really classy finish. And the bias would add body so the ruffle/flower would really bloom. IMHO sometimes sergers just look like ready to wear and the garments you make deserve more.