Moving Right Along.

A few hours ago I took pics of my current project. They are below. This is the fabric that was supposed to be my wrap dress but there wasn't enough fabric. Probably a good thing because the fabric is quite a busy and bold print. I think in this case, less is more. A little less fabric, a little more skin, and the print won't overwhelm me. The dress was supposed to be below the knee and the sleeves to my wrists. Instead, I made the top a deep scoop and the sleeves 3/4 length. Enough for a necklace maybe, and definitely a bracelet. I'll make a skirt that will end either right at or just above the kneeline. Maybe wear it with my black boots. Here's the top so far and you can see the hemline "problem" I wrote about in my previous post:

While constructing it, I used my usual neckband technique. Although some people prefer a 3/4" ratio of neckband to neckline, I find that more precise measurements of front and back neckline is a better formula for me to use. What I do is measure the back and front neckline separately. I found the back neckline measured (at the seamline with a measuring tape on it's side) a total of 10". The front neckline measured a total of 22.5". So what I do with this is automatically take off 1.5" off the back neckline measurement (10-1.5=8.5") and 3" off the front measurement (22.5-3=19.5") to calculate how long to make my neckband, mark the shoulder points on the neckband according to those measurements, then baste it into place for a test fit. Bear in mind that this top is a deep scoop neck. If the neckline were a bit more modest, I'd take off maybe 2" from the front instead of 3". Thus, my neckband measurement was 19.5" (front) +8.5" (back), for a total neckband length of 28". Doing it this way gives me a much better test fit than a plain old 3/4" ratio of neckband to neckline, quartering both the neckband and neckline, and basting.

My first basting was pretty good. Maybe just a smidge more off the front to make sure the neckline was hugging my body/chest. Took out an inch more in the back as there was a bit of gaping there. Second baste was to my satisfaction.

The only problem now...it is a pretty small problem and not very noticeable because of the busy print. It's kind of a trade-off between getting the neckline to hug my body and putting up with a couple of minor folds. At the front neckline, right across from lower armhole, there are some minor wrinkles. I'm okay with that at this point. It's caused by the neckband being maybe a little *too* small for the neckline. Kind of a necessary evil IMO because any looser and my neckband won't sit nice and hug my skin. You can kind of see it in the pic below--it's just above the curve. Probably pretty picky stuff and only astute sewers will notice. The general RTW population would never pick up on it.

So now I'm off to fix my hemline. I didn't like the way my serged, flat edge hem looked. Maybe my serger needs a tuneup, maybe it's just me not playing around with my dials, but I didn't like how it looked. I'm going to turn up the hem and topstitch. So at this point, just shirt and sleeve hems and it's done. Whip up a patternless elastic waist skirt and this is next week's church outfit.

Happy Sewing, everyone!