SewLibra:
This pattern is for a loose fitting dolman top with dropped armscyes and a built-in cami.
SewLibra:
The fabric I used is lightweight Telio Aquarius Reversible Knit Black, 80% rayon and 20% poly. One side has tiny white squares, the other side is striped.
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The lengthen shorten lines are near the hem, but note that if you cut off at the bottom (pattern has no curves), that the lines are not the same distance from the hem on those pieces. Measure instead of relying on the lines! I shortened mine 1 1/2".
SewLibra:
According to the sizing chart I needed a 3" FBA (full bust adjustment). That is my usual for wovens, and thought it might be overkill on a knit. However, I wanted the side seams to hang straight because of the low armscyes on this pattern.
SewLibra:
I rotated the dart to the bottom, as I don't like darts in knits. After the regular slash and spread FBA, draw a line along the edge of the paper from dart point to hem.
SewLibra:
At the pivot point of the dart, bring the bottom bodice section up and close the dart. Tape in place. I use removable tape for "oopsies".
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Cut along the dart line, yes the one you just taped, from dart point toward the side seam. Leave a pivot point at side seam.
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True up the hem, which will be a curve. I like to use a French curve for this. That's it, we're done! It only takes a few minutes longer and no darts in my knit top.
SewLibra:
The finished FBA looks like this. Everything is taped together and I like to trim off excess paper on the underside. I add some tape there too, then if it all works out I might trace it again to make it look nice.
SewLibra:
Both the front cami (facing) and the main front bodice piece need the same FBA. Here is my finished FBA on the cami front. Not attractive, right?! Lol.
SewLibra:
I think it's easier, and better for fitting purposes, to press the armscye hem flat first, instead of after the shoulder seams are sewn. Unfortunately I did not do that on the first cami and had some fitting issues. Explanation coming up!
SewLibra:
By pressing the armscye hem first and pinning, you can then try on the cami and adjust the shoulders if you have gaping.
SewLibra:
Not only did I have gaping in the back armscye, the armholes were WAY too low for me! Sorry, I forgot a pic of that. I was relieved to have enough fabric to cut another cami and start over!
SewLibra:
I raised the armscye 1" on the front and back cami pieces like this. This also fixed the back gaping, which I had planned to remedy by a wedge on the back shouder seam. Didn't need to though!
SewLibra:
Here I'm trying on the second cami after alterations and the armscye and fit in general are perfect! The cami fits snugly so it stays in place underneath the top. It is sewn to the top all around the neckline, then tucked inside the top.
SewLibra:
I tried to coverstitch the armscye hem, but my machine sucked the fabric into the feed dogs. On the second cami I followed instructions and used a zig zag stitch. I found a wide zig zag of 3.5 W x 4.0 L caused the least distortion.
SewLibra:
I did not realize at this point I had sewed the shoulder seam of the cami the wrong direction. I had done it right on the first one, but not the "real" one. I found out at the end but didn't want to unpick the whole neckline on that knit. Waaahhh!
SewLibra:
Here is the finished cami. Note the shoulder seams you see are not right. The raw edges should be on the RIGHT side, then when done the raw edges are concealed on the inside for a neat look.
SewLibra:
I took this pic to show how much smaller the finished cami is to the finished bodice. Btw, I serged the hem edge of the cami as suggested in the instructions.
SewLibra:
Pressing the side seam of the bodice, which is sewn up to the notch. The slit that creates the sleeve is VERY low, but I wanted to make sure my cami stripes will show so I did as directed. Next time I will sew up further.
SewLibra:
The side seams were pressed on my Laurastar sleeve board (I love that thing!) but the seam around the shoulder area needed a ham. Good pressing tools are our friends! Lol.
SewLibra:
The instructions say to topstitch the seam allowance of the side seams on the wrong side of the garment, along the raw edge.
SewLibra:
Since the seams had to be pressed open, and I can't stand unfinished seams, I decided to stitch down each side of the SA near the edges. It didn't show on the right side, will feel better and stay in place when laundered.
SewLibra:
The reason I got reversible fabric is because my plan was to simply turn the hem to the right side, then I would have a band of stripes! To simplify, I cut the curve off in the front that was created by the FBA.
SewLibra:
I turned my hem to the right side of the garment, placed the fabric so that the stitches that are normally on the underside would be on the right side, thus covering the raw edge.
SewLibra:
This is how it turned out, but I didn't like it. The stripes weren't even all around because I didn't cut out my pattern on a single layer. The little raw edges on the sides kind of bugged me, and it looked like I was wearing the top wrong side out!
SewLibra:
I had enough fabric left (barely) to cut out two 3 1/2" strips, folded them lengthwise, and sewed them together at the side seams. I made sure to cut exactly on the lines since this was my last chance!
SewLibra:
I cut off the old hem and used a walking foot to sew the band on the hem edge, just as I would a neck binding but without stretching it. The walking foot kept it aligned as pinned.
