A Basic Shell, Bianca by Jalie and my round shoulders
I needed another summer top. Not a tank top, something a bit dressier to go with most of my “bottoms”. Voila, a basic shell, Bianca. Jalie comes through EVERY time my sewing brain gets creative. (See more here on Jalie’s website, and it’s a dress, too.)
I reviewed Bianca when it was introduced, read THAT post here.
I must admit, I do love to wear knit tops (and I have many). I had an idea of what I wanted; woven fabric, slightly extended shoulders, no sleeves, hip length, loose, but not baggy. I’ve been on a Vanessa pant binge (getting ready to teach another class) and this top goes with ALL of them. It also looks GREAT worn over my Renees in Capri length.
Looks good, right?
And ,,,,,and,,,,,, and……
Here’s the original, and I only made 2 changes to make it a basic shell;.
- I omitted the centre back and center front seams and cut both on the fold.
- I deepened the front neck by 1 1/4 inches. And used a method of continuous bias to make the bindings. So is that 3 changes?
I SHOULD have made a round shoulder adjustment! grrrrrrr. Next time. If you want me to document how I do that, PLEASE let me know in the comments. What I did do this time was take 2 small darts in the back neck which made it more wearable. A proper adjustment would have added length to the back, and it’s very clear in the 3rd photo that I need that, too. Pictures are below this one.
The fabric was in my stash, and is a soft cotton that’s been embellished with chain-stitch embroidery. It has a rumpled look which stands up to the heat and humidity we’ve been dealing with.
My “continuous bias binding” in a plain white cotton finished the front neckline and armholes beautifully.
This was an easy, satisfying project, less that 2 hours from cutting to hemming, and that included making the bias binding! I’ll be making this again, after I adjust the back pattern piece to accommodate my shoulders.
