September | 2019 | Stitch It Again

We all have them. The project that just didn’t pan out as we imagined. Some call it a wadder, and throw it out in frustration. I kept mine.

It started with the best of intentions. Last summer I paired a light cotton lawn fabric with the peplum top, a free pattern from Peppermint magazine.

The fabric came in 2 separate pieces from the thrift store. I liked the Moroccan type print, and the soft, light feel of the fabric.

The top is sleeveless with a v-neck back, and a gathered peplum. It is dartless and somewhat oversized, as you can see by the shape of the bodice pattern pieces.

I cut a size E which is the size for a 38 inch bust with a finished bust measurement of 41 and 3/4 inches. The waist and hip measurement for size E is 32 and 41 inches, although the waist size is not important as the finished waist size is 44 inches.

I cut the bodice from one piece of fabric on the lengthwise grain and cut the full length of the second piece of fabric on the crosswise grain for the peplum. It also has a separate shoulder piece. I ignored the grainline marking, and didn’t cut this piece on the bias because I was trying to make the best use of the print.

I had major fitting problems with this pattern, and abandoned it last August.

I took some in progress photos and didn’t like what I saw. Unflattering!!

Where do I start? It looks like I have a pillow stuffed under my shirt, the front is pulling up, and the underarms are too low.

A year later, I decided to give this top another try. When I first tried it on, I had to take in the sides a bit. The pattern is meant to have a generous amount of ease, but it’s sleeveless so the underarms have to fit. It’s very obvious the top needs a full bust adjustment, but it’s too late for that and I don’t have fabric to cut a new bodice front. I also can’t add a longer shoulder piece and lower the front because the armholes need to fit.

I took out some length from the shoulder seams to take up the armholes. I removed the front peplum and took out some more of the gathers. I took out some of the back length by taking in the back waist seam.

I especially hated that rising line at the front waist that is so apparent because of the white stripe of the print. To camouflage this, I added sash ties into the side seams.

I didn’t have enough fabric for the facings, so I used bias tape. I ran out of the turquoise so had to use a different shade of blue on part of the armhole.