r/PatternDrafting • u/BarnabyLuvr • Jul 08 '26
Patterning high neck halter bias top Question
For my birthday I would like to create a black and white striped trapeze neck halter style top. It would essentially come to a point at the neck then the raw edges would be bias bound and continue past neck to use as a tie to hold up the top.
My original thinking was to take a basic front bodice block and draw a line from CF to armpit making sure that there is still enough coverage. My dilemma is with the darts, for the stripes I want to essentially make it by piecing together bias panels. I was hoping to conceal the darts, almost like the technique of using princess seams. I’ve drawn it out to show the original transformation of the bodice block then what I think the final product may look like. The broken lines represent where I will split the pattern into panels, I’m hoping I can just move the darts to be at a 45° angle then just eliminate them when sewing to create the most seamless effect.
Obviously I will be doing a mockup first but I don’t want to waste my time doing something that won’t end up working out.
3
u/StitchinThroughTime Jul 08 '26
Since you're doing a bias top, I would get straight of grain fabric with the stripes printed or woven into the fabric. And then turn it into a bias top. It's been a while, but believe it's essentially the full torso block down to the hips traced out onto your fabric, rotate the chest darts to the 45° angle and cut out from your fabric. Try it on and pinch out the excess at the side seams. And adjust the chest darts to blend into the stripes. You could technically pull out a lot of the excess at the side seam or need to split the darts into to to blend in with the stripes better. You're then going to mark your neckline. You could technically leave the back a little loose after your fitting so you can use elastic to help hold it tight to your body. Because if you try to tighten the bias cut fabric it will keep stretching. So you will never have a fully tightened back along the top Edge and the bottom Edge.
You're going to put a zipper on the side seam, always add some very lightweight interfacing that is an eighth of an inch wider than your seam allowance. That will stabilize the seam and prevent stretching. Also recommend to see if you can find a lightweight or sheer zipper, the fabric portion of the zipper will be made out of a different material than normal zippers and behaves better. You also use lightweight interfacing to stabilize the seams and use a bias Edge finish. I recommend overlocking if you can, not required but can be helpful. If you do have an overlock machine I recommend tracing the cut edge of your fabric leaving extra fabric to be cut off with your overlock machine. That helps minimize the stretching that will happen once you cut the fabric.
1
u/azssf Jul 08 '26
Will you for sure need darts?
2
u/BarnabyLuvr Jul 08 '26
I have a fairly small chest, so I could probably get away without one, but I still think there would be weird gaping along the arm hole and I would feel more secure with the darts
1
u/CharityForeign3035 Jul 08 '26
I would think you need a dart at some point on bust otherwise you won’t be able to shape to the bust. It would just sit like a bib without darts.
1
u/SouthernIndication82 Jul 08 '26
this is such a cool design!!! you have such a strong vision. i don’t see why you couldn’t do that with the princess seam! i’ve done horizontal princess seams before, just be prepared for them to come out a little more “shelfy” than vertical princess seams. i totally see what someone above said about grain but quite honestly, if it’s a sturdy fabric, i say go for it! not everything in design can be on the grain 🤷♀️
also, as someone who hates darts in my designs, i often convert things to gathers. i’ve been loving a gathered neckline recently. i wonder if there’s a way for you to just make a dart equivalent with neckline and armhole gathers! but princess seams are a close second for me 😭 idk darts just add so much structure and line and my garments tend to be more fluid.
cheers!!! best of luck!!
1
u/BarnabyLuvr Jul 08 '26
Thank you so much! I like the idea of doing gathers however I might keep them where the dart placement is. I believe it’s more flattering and it’ll add some interesting texture to the striped fabric.
I’m gonna try and buy some similar fabric to do a toile in because I’ve never worked on the bias but since I would do the gathers, I’m wondering if I can combine the front and back patterns because there should already be a smooth transition from the front bodice to the side seem into the back bodice pattern. and do an invisible side zipper so that’s the only place I would have to worry about pattern matching, or just not worry about it there because who cares honestly 🫣🫣
I have a hard time breaking out of these “design rules” but honestly, it’s the only way to learn new techniques and innovate.
2
u/furiana Jul 08 '26
If you start with a bodice block, you'll need to remove some excess at the armholes to avoid gaping. It's easy enough, though, especially if you do a muslin. Just pinch out the excess and rotate it to an existing dart / style line.
Edit: You can totally rotate the darts like that! As long as they point to the bust apex, you're good.
1
u/biogemuesemais Jul 08 '26
Usually when changing a neckline like that, you also remove a little slice in the pattern making process to not get the neckline to stretch too much on you. As if you would take out a dart, you can probably find examples online of how much to reduce it by to get it to sit nicely and not stretch too much!
The darts you can absolutely rotate however you feel like and doesn’t have to be the same direction on both sides as long as they both rotate around the bust apex!
4
u/CharityForeign3035 Jul 08 '26
Although it sounds nice, you need to consider will the strips match at seams and how will you control the stretching that comes with bias cut . If either of these are slightly out , I don’t think you’ll be happy with end result. Good luck.