I was in dire need of a new dress to wear both at parties and work. Since I really like my cowl-neckline dress (the first dress I’m truly comfortable in!), I adapted the pattern to work better in winter by adding cap sleeves. Not as easy as I thought!
Since the top part of the cowl-neckline pattern is tilted to the side, the cap-sleeve made the arm-opening smaller, very small actually!
I decided the easiest way to work around it would be to add a bit to the pattern on top of the shoulder. I figured that then the cowl-neckline would get a bit deeper, but that that would actually be an improvement since I wanted the dress to be more party-like than the original.
To make sure everything worked ok before I cut into my material I made a test version-top from a cotton blend. This is the result. I have left all the edges raw, I might finish them using a twin needle, but only if I have to (lazy bum!).
I like it, but there’s too much material in the back (in the sleeve opening), so I made a closed dart in the pattern from the back neckline to the back sleeve-opening to remove some of it.
The pose? Well, I had an old iconic fashion photograph by Richard Avedon in mind… not that I look like it but anyway! I added it in the end… I love it!
Cotton blend, very thin.
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Nov 9, 2009, 06.52 PMby miekekolkman
Next item on my to do list: make this great top. Love it with the sleeves, wear my cowl top (made from your pattern) all the time, but the sleeves are a great winter-addition! Thanks!
1 Reply
Nov 9, 2009, 09.08 PMby ichigogirl
I’m so glad to hear that you like it and wear it! Can’t wait to see your version of this one :-)!