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full bust and neckline on wrap dress how to make it higher and not gape open
alexisart   Intermediate FL Member since 4/10/12 Posts: 59	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 6/7/12 8:07 AM I made a wrap dress awhile back but if I wear it, because of my DD bust size I end up having to try to pin it invisibly, which causes it to not look right. It is just too low and would gape open and show my bra otherwise. I would love to make it again but does anyone know a way to alter the pattern in such a way that it would lay flat and NOT so low or is a wrap dress just not possible for someone with DD's?
CSM--Carla   Intermediate FL USA Member since 1/21/06 Posts: 1058	Login to reply to this post In reply to alexisart << 1 member likes this. Date: 6/7/12 9:25 AM Here is the best way to raise a neckline that I have seen. If you have Sandra Betzina's book Power Sewing on page 140 she discusses stabilizing the front neckline. She uses a stabilizer strip 1/2 inch from the raw edge before removing the pattern pieces from the fabric. Also when paper pattern fitting the pattern, you can take a small dart where the neckline gaps, then cut out the neckline with the folded dart in place. This removes the excess fabric in the area. -- Edited on 6/7/12 9:36 AM --
Courtney Ostaff   Intermediate WV USA Member since 11/23/10 Posts: 624	Login to reply to this post In reply to alexisart << 1 member likes this. Date: 6/7/12 10:45 AM In the meantime, I highly recommend a bra like this: cami bra
Fictionfan   Advanced VT USA Member since 5/19/06 Posts: 1168	Login to reply to this post 3 members like this. Date: 6/7/12 11:21 AM First, did you make a full bust alteration? Without a FBA, you can't get a wrap to lie flat at the center chest in either a knit or a woven, in my experience. Normally, an FBA will add length to the front of the dress as well as width. This means lengthening the cross-over part of a wrap or mock-wrap. I measure what length I need the edges to be, adjust my pattern for length, then make the FBA, then check the length of the neckline edge and adjust it if needed. This may mean creating a dart in the neckline that I do not sew but fold out, as already suggested, before cutting the fabric. Darts create depth, forcing the fabric to curve with your curves. The neckline edges of the V-neck or wrap will be bias, so they easily stretch out. Stabilizing this edge, as already mentioned, as soon as possible before handling the cut pieces, is essential. This is true for knits or wovens. Some people use clear elastic. I don't like to use a stretch stabilizer on these necklines, because the whole point is to prevent stretching. I use straight stay tape, fusible or not, if I use a stabilizer. Smetimes, stay stitching works just fine. I can't find the link right now, but Charles Kliebacker (sp?) was the genius in bias necklines. Threads magazine did an article on him a few years ago. There was a link on their website showing the bazilion pin techniques he used for easing his necklines. The suggestion of a cami is a good one or consider the addition of a modesty panel if you don't mind that look for your garment, but it doesn't fix the problem of the dress standing off the body because of lack of shaping. You really need to make the pattern conform to your curves to make the neckline lie against your body. ------ Fictionfan
Elona   Advanced CA USA Member since 8/24/02 Posts: 7401	Login to reply to this post In reply to Fictionfan << 1 member likes this. Date: 6/7/12 12:19 PM Here's the Kleibacker link. I have found that for non-couturier sewing, you can generally get by with fewer pins...

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