Plunging Neckline Top With Open Slit

Hello!

Airshow was awesome :D

Today I am going to guide you on how to make a Top with a plunging neckline. I have always like plunging neckline maybe because I am a malay. Malay has a festive costume called 'Baju Kurong' which has a 'V' plunging neckline. Therefore, being a malay, I wore lots of Baju Kurong so I came to have a liking in plunging neckline. HEHE. If you think plunging neckline is difficult, you're absolutely wrong! Since I can do it, you can too! So let's get started!

Firstly, you will need to have a bodice pattern. You can use either the front or back bodice pattern.

If you don't know how to make a bodice pattern, just take your favourite top/t-shirt and copy the bodice pattern. You can refer to my previous post on DIY-01 how on to copy a bodice pattern.

When it comes to cutting the fabric, you have to ignore the neckline area and make a straight cut from the shoulder. In my case, only my front bodice pattern has a neckline. Hence you have to cut the fabric according to the picture below (with the black line).

Don't forget to make two cuts!

Here's how your cut should look like.

Then pin the pieces facing right-right side.

Once you're done pinning, sew the two pieces together. Once two pieces become one, it should look like this:

Now it's time to make the beautiful plunging neckline!

For the neckline, you need to make a semi-circle pattern and I use a protractor to make the pattern. If you're worried that your head might not fit in, you can make the semi-circle larger.

In my case, my diameter was 14cm.

Fold the one piece fabric into half (right-right side) with the sleeve at the top.

Then I place the semi-circle pattern on the one piece, shifting only few cm to the back of the top. Pin the pattern to the piece.

From the end of the semi-circle, make a 10cm mark. Draw a triangle connecting the 10cm mark to the end of the semi-circle. Here's where you can customize the neckline. If you want a larger V, you can make the mark longer. If you want a deeper V, you can draw a larger triangle.

Cut out the fabric following the semi-circle pattern and the triangle you just drew.
After cutting, your piece should look like this:

Now, we can move on to make the lining of the neckline.


Using the same semi-circle pattern, place it on a new piece of fabric (you can also use another fabric pattern for the lining).

Similarly to the neckline, you make a 10cm marking and draw a triangle. Next you add about 1-2" seam allowances around the pattern. Here's a diagram to help you visualize.

You cut out the grey area first followed by the pink area. With that as guidance, you will have the lining for the neckline.

Either serge around the lining or do a rolled hem.

You start to attach the lining to the neckline (right-right side) and sew them. Turn it inside out and press the neckline. Sew the edge of the neckline to have a nice finish!

Then you're done with the plunging neckline! YAY!!!

Before we move on to the side seam, hem the bottom of the top. The black line is where the folding of the hems will end.

Since this is going to be an open slit, I mark out 20cm where the side seam will end. Then sew above the 20cm mark.

I decided to add sleeve to the top. Ignore this part if you want a sleeveless top (don't forget to hem the ends if you're not adding sleeves).

I cut out two pieces of fabric and attach the sleeve to the top (right-right side).

Once you've attached the sleeves, hem the ends of the sleeve!

Hang in there! We are almost done!
We will move back to the open slit. Remember the remaining 20cm? Now you make a rolled hem at the respective sides and sew!

Final touches will be adding button and button loop!

So how's the end product?

I am extremely happy with the end result! I thought I would fail terribly in making plunging neckline but it was super easy!

I sincerely hope this post will be helpful for those who are in need of sewing tips! :D



-RECOMMENDATIONS-

Korean drama: 6 Flying Dragons (50Episodes)

I know it's crazy because of the long episodes but I can assure you that this drama won't make you feel bored at all. Every episode is worth watching. It's been so long since I am hooked on a Sageuk themed drama. The team of 6 Flying Dragons has done a fantastic job as I've only found out recently that 42 episodes have already been aired. WHUT?!!! ONLY 8 EPISODES LEFT?!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Song:  Joe Hisaishi - Howl's Moving Castle

Till then~

DIY-01

Hello!

 It's finally my first post for the year, Hip hip Hooray!

I just finished my first DIY for the year.
I made very own sweater! HEHE.

Materials:

 2m fabric

Thread

 Sewing machine

I find sewing really simple and easy to do when you know how to create your own pattern. For myself, I use a similar clothing to trace out the pattern. In this DIY, I am using an oversized crop top which I am very much in love with. :)

 

With a sample clothing as a guideline for pattern-making, you can easily alter the length and width of the clothing you are making. Since I am using a crop top to make a sweater, I ensure that the pattern I trace out is longer than the sample clothing.

First and foremost, to trace out pattern you need to fold the clothes into half.

A simple sweater requires three important parts- FRONT, BACK & SLEEVE

FRONT

 BACK

SLEEVE

Do not forget to add in the fold direction. This is absolutely important or else you might forget to fold your fabric before cutting them!

 FRONT

BACK

SLEEVE

Yay! So we are done cutting the fabric. Now it's time to assemble these three together and you'll get yourself a sweater.

When ever it comes to sewing a top, the shoulder will be the first to sew.

 right-right side which means the wrong side of the fabric will be on the outside.

pin the FRONT and BACK together

You can start sewing the shoulder.

 Next, pin the sleeve to the armhole.

 Always remember to pin your fabric together this is to keep them on the right track when you sew them.

Once the sleeve is sewn on, pin the sides of the bodice and bottom of the sleeve.

 Then head to the sewing machine and press the foot pedal!

After assembling the three parts together, I decided to add bias tape to the neckline and cuff on the wrist area.

Oops, I forgot to take pictures of the bias tape! What I did to make the bias tape was I measured the neckline of the sweater.

My measurement for the bias tape was 23" by 1.5" 

I cut out the fabric with an additional 0.5".

Pin the right-right side together and sew them. Afterwards, fold the ends of the bias tape and sew.

Next, I did the cuff. 

The measurement was 10" by 3".

After cutting the fabric, fold the fabric into half (right-right side) and sew the ends.

Before attaching the cuff to the wrist area, turn the cuff inside-out. 

Once the right side is out, pin the cuff to the wrist area and sew.

Lastly, I did a rolled hem at the bottom for a clean finish!

So how did my sweater look?

 Rolled hem~

 Bias tape~

 Cuff~

Sweater~ 

WEE~ Isn't it easy? HEHE! So how much fabric did I use? I only used about 1m out of the 2m ( I am a petite size lady. HAHAHA! )

I still have plenty of fabric left, A-line skirt will be the next DIY of 2016!

That's all for this post. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog. Also, I created a youtube account with my dearest friend. We called ourselves, 2misfitchers. Please check out our channel~

2misfitchers youtube account

Recommended song: 

Jonghyun- Beautiful Lady (Oh My Venus OST)



Till then <3