Pink and black nightgown

This is my second incarnation of the Seamster (formerly Disparate Disciplines) Yellowtail Cami pattern.  This time I lengthened all the body pieces, with a view to having a nightgown.  I also added a small amount to the side seams (tapered so the back width was the same) to give me a bit of room.

Not ….. happy ….. Jan!

The commonly held belief after the first one, was that the fabrics stretched out as I was sewing, and as such, that was why it was so big. The fabric this time, is a 2 way synthetic knit, quite heavy weight, and not all that prone to stretching out. However, a quick try on before applying the FOE, revealed exactly the same issue across my back (apologies for the shot of my bare back).

Either my back is super narrow, or this pattern has a huge amount of ease built in, rather than negative ease that the website claims. What can’t be seen is that I also had the same problem with the front …. the front bands ended up almost in my armpits. This time stretching can’t be blamed, because I interfaced the bands, reasoning that the fabric was heavier and therefore needed the support. I ended up cutting close to an inch off the bodice front at both sides, in essence pulling it back to a size 10. I have a feeling that getting the fit how the pattern claims, will require me to do the same with the back bodice. The front V gave me more trouble than last time, so I think I was just lucky to get it right last time. I plan to draft off a new version with these fitting changes, and see how it goes.

The finished result isn’t perfect, but I am hoping it will be a comfortable nightie to wear. Originally I was planning wide bands for the shoulders, and self binding for the back, but the resulting finish was so dreadful, I cut it off, and started again. As a result, I just couldn’t be bothered changing threads to apply the FOE, so we have a “design feature” of black thread on the pink FOE.

The hem was finished with roll-edge hemming on my overlocker, but I think next time I will take the time to thread up the coverstitch, as my overlocker did not like all the seams.

I think perhaps, that I might put this pattern away for a while, until I have the patience to spend on getting the fitting just right.