Dressmakers help!

[DaisyYellowGold]

I have 3 of these tops which I don’t know why I bought them, they come up way too low cut on me. Do you think I could take them up a bit from the top of the shoulders? I’m ok with a sewing machine but no clue what to do here! Any advice appreciated!

https://www.next.co.uk/style/su096273/n65419

Have you constructed a t shirt before? Because I think you'll just need to work back from that.

If not, then based on where the seams are and where the binding is, you would need to:

• take neck binding off
• remove sleeves
• take shoulders up
• adjust sleeves to remove excess fabric (because the will be bigger than the hole you now have)
• shorten the binding for the neckband
• reattach neckband

As a fellow sewist who also makes a lotnof clothes, I can tell you that this is one job that would probably never make the top of my list because of the effort vs reward 😆 plus youll probably not be happy woth the finish as id expect to end up with ripples on the binding or bumps at the seams because if its modal, its probably really thin material that will show everything.

I'd probably pop it into the jammies pile or reuse the fabric to make a kiddie t shirt X

Short answer, no, long answer the one provided by @ServantsGonnaServe .

I think the best way of dealing with this would be to wear something underneath that covers what you don't want to show. Either a crop top camisole sometimes called a half cami. There are lots of "modesty" top options without having to wear a full vest underneath. I used to work in a primary school so a wrap dress would need me to wear a plain crop cami to cover my amble chest.

As a non- seamstress the first thing I’m seeing is the extreme complication of the sleeves if you tried to hoick the thing up at the shoulders. Outside a Great British Sewing Bee challenge I really don’t think it would be worth your time.

You could simply wear them with another, longer sleeved and less scoop necked tee shirt beneath. Whether you’d look like a The Row masterclass in cool layering, or a misguided mess, isn’t something I could comment on!

See a modesty panel across. Or buy one that attaches to your bra.

Thank you for all your replies, I knew it wouldn’t be easy but that sounds really hard ServantsGonnaServe !

It’s annoying because other than being too low it’s a perfect basic throw on tshirt, but it’s not so throw on if I have to come up something coordinating under it. I really shouldn’t have bought 3 of them!

Maybe you could try to sew a panel into or behind the scooped out neck? Experiment on one and if it works, do the others as well. But t-shirt material is not easy to work with.

Just wear a contrast cami under then?

You can buy lace panels that clip into the lower part of the v-neck. Look on ebay. Alternatively, cut up a white shirt and sew pieces of the fabric into place.

Imagine buying such a cool and beautifully cut garment and then having to add a bit of lace!

@DaisyYellowGold if you’re not willing to layer underneath, the least worst suggestion I have is that you cut up one of the three to add another exact neckline - just higher up. There’s already so much stitching and patchwork it may well look like the original design.

I completely agree that doing it properly is going to be a pig of a job. However, you have nothing to lose by taking in a wider shoulder seam and continuing it down the sleeve. It looks as if the sleeve is loose enough to allow for this. It will completely change the fit which you may or may not like, but you can sew it and see and undo it if you don't like it. If you do like it, you could neaten it up and make it look more meant by covering the new seam with a contrast or matching trim.

Otherwise I agree a cami is the best solution but I wouldn't be doing a sewn in one on a drapey fabric because it will affect how it hangs.

Well it shows what a rubbish sewist I am as I would definitely be giving it a go by tacking along the shoulder and see what it looks like!!. 😂 If you have three, it’s surely worth a go? You don’t have to machine it if it looks bad. I have a weird shaped super skinny DD and am forever being asked to adjust stuff. Sometimes it looks terrible but sometimes not so bad.

But @BoilingHotand50something have you not looked at the armscye? If you tack up the shoulders without doing anything else, the armhole will pretty much disappear. It’s already set ridiculously high under the arm.

(Forgive me if I’ve misunderstood what you mean.)

@MsWintertowne i told you I was a terrible sewist! I don’t know what an armscye is!

But I would give it a go. I would tack a fold at the top of the shoulder but taper it to a less narrow fold to the bottom of the sleeve. And then I would probably find out why you are all saying not to do it!

I have rescued a low neckline in the past by sewing a small inverted pleat in the centre front neck. You can sew a tiny button over it to make it look intentional.

It would obviously change the style of the top!

Goodnews, they weren't expensive. Lightly worn, sell on eBay for £5 each and buy one you like. I've got ten I am selling in Vinted for the same reason !

A cotton bralette with a high line. Sewing bits of lace and cotton in will look odd. I don't usually suggest clothes sold on Amazon but something like this. It will look deliberately layered - sewing something in will look as if you're scared of the low neck

Cotton bralette

Wear a vest underneath.

I upcycle a lot of clothes.
Options:

1. Take it up at the shoulder at an angle from the neckline so you leave the sleeve cuff intact. Cut into the neckline band and sew it down flat. There's a limit to how much you can take it in without ruining the shape.
2. Sew a pleat at the front neckline
3. Gather the neckline with thread or elastic

I've done all of the above before but only for tops I was desperate to keep. As others have said it can be more hassle than it's worth particularly if you want it to still have a nice finish. (Note that often an overlocker and/or a coverstitch machine is usually required for a professional finish on knit fabrics)

I've been thinking about this some more!

You could try the following:

• take neck binding off
• cut a diagonal triangle off from the shoulder (half an inch each side)- cut 1 inch off the binding
• reattach binding

The binding will sill probably ripple but you could try on your least favourite one and keep it for bed if it's a disaster.

Obviously adjust the measurements as you see fit, but make sure the neck side of the triangles add up to the amount of binding you cut off so you don't end up with sagging or pulling.

Thank you for all these suggestions! I think I’ll try what BoilingHotand50something suggested and just tack it along the lines of the above and see what it looks like to start. I shall report back!