Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I so excited to be able to putter around the house and in my studio this weekend… I love it when I have some extra time with no plans. Of course I filled the weekend up with lots of things I want to get to. Top on my list is a Pattern Design Redirect. Yesterday during my Live Stream: Fabulous Fit Friday, I showed how to rotate a bust dart to create a gathered neckline. I started with the top of the Anna Dress Pattern. I changed the neckline to have a 1 1/2″ band. Then I rotated the dart to the neckline to create gathers. After I signed off, I looked at my newly designed pattern and decided that I needed more…. MORE gathers.
I rotated the dart back to the bust. Here’s what it looks like. The two lines from the apex to the neckline were my slash lines to rotate the bust dart to the neckline. Then I extended the tip of the bust dart to the apex.
To create more gathers than what I would get from just rotating the dart to the neckline, I’m going to create multiple slash lines that I will spread along the neckline edge. The first step is to get the bust dart out of the way by rotating it to the waistline edge.
Now I can draw in all my slash lines. There are 6 in total. Notice that three of the slash lines start at the tip of the waist dart. Closing the waist dart and dividing it among 3 slash lines will create a gentle curve at the neckline edge that will be easy to true up and gather.
Before spreading the pattern, mark the position at the top of the front armhole and create notches in the neckband and top of the bodice. You will use these notches to match the neckband to the gathered neckline edge. (This is where I made a huge fumble during Fab Fit Friday… so if you have questions about this, please let me know!!)
Close the waist dart by slashing the three lines that start at the tip of the dart. Put paper behind the slashed pattern to anchor it in place.
Here’s what the bodice looks like after all 6 slash lines have been spread. Closing the waist dart and allowing it to spread open above the apex will provide gentle gathers that are positioned above the bust. I’m hoping this will create a flattering fit.
The last step is to add a seam allowance along the top edge of the bodice and the bottom edge of the neckband. Because this is a knit pattern, I’m going to use a 3/8″ seam allowance.
Here’s what the completed pattern pieces look like.
To continue this design to the back, I used the position of the neck band at the front shoulder to mark the position on the back shoulder. Then I finished drawing the neck band and cut it off the back bodice. If you’re not a member of JSD Fitting and Pattern Perfection on FB, consider joining us! I’m hoping to modeling this new design during next Friday’s Fab Fit Live Stream 🙂
