Distinctive Prints: Part 4

Today I am working on the ties for the dress. I wanted them to match the print of the midriff inset which is cut from a crosswise piece of the print. The lengthwise stripe is only a single stripe while the crosswise stripe is double so I had to piece it so that it would match.

Because I only wanted a narrow fuchsia stripe along the length I cut my seam allowances at the center 1/4″ from the outside of the fuchsia stripe and it’s mate 1/4″ from the inside of the fuchsia stripe – hopefully the pictures illustrate what I’m talking about.

When sewn you will see a fuchsia stripe on the right side and on the seam allowance of the wrong side.

I decided to not make the ties match the midriff exactly. Instead, for interest, I made the ties with a fuchsia striped border. Once everything is pieced together you can hardly tell! I tried to be very careful about matching everything up.

I know you are probably wondering why I did not border the midriff inset with fuchsia, aren’t you? Well, I am pretty short-waisted and didn’t want an additional 1/4″ in length so (instead of doing the right thing and removing 1/8″ from the top and the skirt to compensate) I basically took the easy way out and omitted the fuchsia stripe (which I’m now sorry about because it is pretty).

Because I just had enough of the striped border for the ties I backed them with a different part of the print. I also did not have as much length as the pattern called for – and didn’t want to purchase a lot more yardage to get it – so these will probably tie to the back only. Since I’d already used 5 yards of fabric for this dress I really didn’t want to order more.

Not that any of my huge scraps will go to waste! I am going to make a top like this one that Ann made. I love the way she cut the print for a completely different look! I think it’s very artsy.

See Ann’s review of this top HERE.