Up to my neck

It's been a little quiet lately because I've been up to my neck with non-crafty stuff. It's all good though. I apparently thrive when I'm super busy. I don't really like having a lot of time on my hands. Can anyone else relate?

Speaking of being up to my neck, here is my finished Simplicity 4111 top with a raised neckline. I wanted to make this top since last summer but just got around to it. All of the reviews I read warned about an extremely low neckline. I decided to raise the neckline so that I could wear it by itself without flashing my goods to the outside world.

I'm happy with the neckline but I'm not sure how I feel about the shirt overall. I think it just needs to grow on me. Anyways, here is how I raised the neckline:

First, tape your bodice pattern to some paper. Measure the amount you want to raise and mark a dot. Then draw a straight line down to the original point. Here I've raised it about an inch.


Next, draw a curve from the dot you just made to the side neckline using a french curve (like the one pictured) or do it freestyle.


Make sure you transfer all markings from the original bodice neckline to the new neckline. Once that's done, it's time to adjust the neckline facing. If your bodice pattern doesn't have a facing piece, then you can skip the next step. Remember to use your new bodice pattern piece for the lining if applicable.


Put tracing paper over your new bodice pattern. Measure the width of the original neckline facing pattern piece. Here, the amount I raised the neckline happens to be the same amount as the width of the facing pattern piece. On your new curve, measure and mark that amount along the entire neckline (represented by the dotted line in the picture above). Connect the dots and you have your new facing piece. Prepare your garment following the directions with your new pattern pieces.

There might be a more professional way of doing this, but this is the method I used which worked for me. I hope this helps at least one of you out there.