Rolling With Sewing Mistakes (Stone Grey Danielle Batwing Top)

I added width when I wanted to add length.

If you’re anything like me, you probably get so excited for the end product when sewing a thing, you might not pay enough attention to what you’re doing. So you end up sewing together the two back pieces of a pair of leggings and the two front pieces, or sewing a bodice with wrong sides together when it should be right sides together, or forgetting to mirror while cutting, or disregarding the direction of a pattern. (Eherm…not naming any names here…)

So there I was, happily sewing along to the background noise of Friends episodes played for the umptillionth time, when I hope over to my iron, press the seams, then realize this bottom hem band on my 3rd Danielle top was lookin’ rather extra.

Shoot. I just added 8 inches to the circumference instead of 2 inches to the length.

Luckily, it’s easier to remove than it is to add.

So I did some erroneous math and chopped out a total of 6 inches–3 inches on each side seam–and re-sewed the side seams.

Hm…still lookin a little extra. But I mathed. This has to be right.

Well, it wasn’t. And I could tell when I was pinning the band to the shirt and didn’t have to distribute any stretch–because there wasn’t any stretch.

But I didn’t fix it. I think I just turned my brain off and kept going.

And that’s how I ended up with a hem band that is way less hem band and way more extension-of-shirt. I kind of like it, though. It’s more tunic-y, and the criss-cross straps on the back give an interesting illusion that I have a shirt layered over a short, fitted dress.

The moral of the story: don’t fear the mistakes.

About the Fabric

• Bodice: stone gray double brushed poly from Made of Love
• Hem Band & Straps: seems like french terry to me; came in a fabric happy hour box from Boho Fabrics

Notes

• I totally used my 1/4″ foot for topstitching the neck binding.
• I used knit fusible interfacing on the straps. They turn out so much better/more stable with interfacing.
• To actually add LENGTH to the hem band, add it to the short side of the hem band pattern piece.

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