Simplicity 4020 - Kimono-styled black & red knit top

I have been watching so much Olympic coverage from Beijing that I was inspired to make something Asian-looking. Plus there's currently 41 reviews of this top on Pattern Review, 99% highly recommended. So I thought it was a pretty sure thing as patterns go. And people, I really needed something to turn out.

My only issue is that I'm getting a pucker right under the bust from where the top pieces overlap. I've tried everything to get that pucker to go away, even sewed a piece of ribbon over the seam as you can see in the following picture. I finally decided to just live with it. Only a perfectionist like myself can tell and even then they'd have to be standing extremely close to me.

This was super easy to make. I don't have a serger, so knits look a little messy on the inside. This does bug me. Oh well. I've got no place to put a serger, so don't plan on buying one anytime soon. I made view E but with slightly shorter sleeves. (Didn't have enough fabric.) I love it! And it's so comfortable. I had this outfit on all day. Being a stay-at-home-mom, I still like to look cute even if I'm just running to the store.

I finished this up this morning and thought, hmmm... needs something. Maybe a necklace? I had to buy some powder at the mall anyway, so decided to look at their jewelry at the same time. BIG MISTAKE!!! My kids were total monkeys. They grabbed bracelet after bracelet to stack on their arms, ripped price tags off, closed the little jewelry boxes displayed on those round tables, ran out of the store into the mall to sit on some massage chairs, almost toppled a mannequin and crawled around on the floor. Every second I was saying, "Stop that!", "Put that down!!", "NO grabbing!!!", "Get back here!!!!". I do make a choice and go to pay with my $10 off coupon in hand. My motto: send me a coupon and I will visit your store. Then the sales lady tells me my purchase has to be at least $30. Now I've got to find something for $10 to go with the necklace. Yea, we left without purchasing any jewelry. New motto: Always read the fine print.

Here are my monkeys before the mall incident. Big brother Nathan on the right changing the oil in his car just like daddy does it, and little brother Daniel "helping". Notice all the tools? So funny!