Crossover Yoke to Full Crossover Front

The new Fit for Art pattern for Tabula Rasa Knits, Clever Crossing Variations (CCV), provides two ways to make a knit top with a crossover yoke front in addition to the surplice front.  While the surplice front is limited to a tee hem line, you can easily use either crossover style with the tunic or tee hem.  We are going to take a closer look at the two crossover options.  What is the difference between the two styles?  When might you want to use one over the other?

First the Crossover Yoke Front.  What I love most about this style is that it gives you the opportunity to mix several fabrics together.  Because the front is 3 separate pattern pieces, it’s great for using knit scraps or fabrics that you have just a small piece of.  You can increase the possibilities for using multiple fabrics even more by splitting the back into a yoke and lower back or by adding piping into the horizontal yoke seam or the side seams.  Instructions for creating a back yoke and adding piping are included in the box on page 4 of the CCV instructions.  Here are a couple of Crossover Yoke tees that we made using the leftover bits and pieces from our knit fabric bundles.

To make a Crossover Yoke Front, you will need the new CCV pattern pieces labeled Crossover Yoke and Crossover Yoke Insert as well as your original adjusted Front for the Tabula Rasa Knit Tee & Tunic.  Did you make changes to your TRK Front at the shoulder, armseye or dart?  If so, those adjustments need to be transferred to the yoke and yoke insert pattern pieces; lay the new pattern pieces over your original Front and trace the adjusted cut lines onto the yoke and yoke insert patterns.  After making necessary adjustments, fold your original Front down 5/8” above the dots to create the lower front pattern piece, as directed on page 3 of CCV.  You are ready to cut out one each of the 3 front pattern units.

The second style of crossover yoke we’ve named a Full Front Crossover because it eliminates the horizontal yoke seam while retaining the separate yoke insert at the left shoulder.  I find this style of front is great for featuring a knit print with a large pattern that you don’t want to break up, like these two samples.

To create a pattern for this style, you will need to cut a full lower front pattern; trace the lower front pattern that you used for the Crossover Yoke Front onto a fresh piece of folded paper, placing the center back on the fold of the paper.  Cut out the traced pattern and open it up to get a full lower front.  Then you will tape the Crossover Yoke pattern to the full lower front as directed on page 4 of CCV.  Here is how my Full Crossover Front pattern looked.

If you think you will want to make this style more than once (and I bet you will), trace the Crossover Yoke pattern onto a fresh piece of paper and attach that copy to the full lower front pattern.  That way you will have both styles – the Crossover Yoke Front and the Full Crossover Front – ready to go for next time.  Don’t forget to label the new pattern pieces!

Another thing I love about making the Clever Crossing Variations is the order of construction.  The binding is attached to the neckline before sewing the yoke or full crossover front to the yoke insert.  For me, this is much easier than fitting the binding into the U or V neckline of the original tee and tunic pattern.  You can see the binding is already attached in these photos which illustrate a full crossover front and yoke insert pinned in preparation for sewing them together.

I hope you will get a chance try both of these styles soon.  They are fun to wear and get lots of compliments!  If you are coming to the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Schaumburg or Fredericksburg, visit our booth to pick up a copy of Clever Crossing Variations for Tabula Rasa Knits AND a brand new knit fabric bundle.  We found several fun prints on our NYC shopping trip last week, and you’ll get first dibs on them at the expos.  Hope to see you soon!

Happy Sewing, Carrie