The Mock-Neck Jenny: An Essential Layering Piece

This is Jenny, a new pattern release from Seamwork. Jenny is a fitted mock-neck top with a sleek silhouette. It has a front and back yoke that adds great seam details.

When building that quintiessential mix and match capsule warderobe great underpinnings, and layering pieces will tie everthing together. It is ideal for wearing with jeans, skirts, and pants. It is the perfect foundation garment for layering under any outfit.

You can sew up a variety of Jenny tops in any of your favourite knits. For a more body-hugging fit, choose a 4-way stretch knit. For this tighter fitting Jenny I choose a cotton double knit. The pattern is designed with negative ease, to be more form fitting. I made a size 12 for a snugger fit across my bust and through the arms. I increased the height of the mock-neck by 1" as I prefer a higher neck line. Double needle topstitching adds a bit of detail, highlighting the yoke.

The pattern is designed to to really hug your curves, which I am not as comfortable with through my waist area. For my Jenny, I added room around the waist by straightening the waist area. This can be done very easily by simply drawing a line straight down from the bottom of the arm syce to the hip. I am much happier with this fit overall. I made this lovely sage green Jenny for layering. It is a perfect match for the geometric print that used to make my Jameela Jacket seen here. The skirt is a simple self-drafted skirt that I can simply pull on and voila, I have a lovely knit suit. I feel chic and sophisticated, but it is as comfortable as leisure wear!

For a more structured look I layered my Jenny with an oversized Rhett Jacket made from faux leather. You can see all of the details about this fun patchwork jacket here.

Using a cotton jersey allows me to be comfortable and cool and to add more winter layers. This look shows the oversized Rhett thrown over my knit suit. A fun fashionable combination for staying warm while running errands and feeling stylish when you stop to meet a friend for lunch.

My second Jenny is styled a bit differently. This is a 2-way stretch knit that has more of a plush sweater feel to it. For this Jenny, I sized up one size for a loser fit so I could wear it layered or on its own.

Due to the more dramatic pattern on this knit, I opted to not have the feature front and back yoke. To do this I simply lined up the yoke pattern piece with the bodice pattern for both front and back and cut the pieces out of the fold as one continuous piece. I cut the curved bodice straighter through the waist once again and increased the height of the mock neck.

I am really pleased with the result. This is most likely going to be the option for sizing that I will choose going forward. The Jenny definitely feels like a classy winter version of a long sleeve T-shirt.

It would be so easy to extend the mock-neck another couple of inches to create a turtleneck which would also be a great layering piece addition to your winter wardrobe. After all... There is Sew Much To Design

Happy Sewing,

Lou Sheffer