A lot of patterns intended for knit fabric have too much negative ease to be made with woven fabric. What a bummer to spend all that time sewing, only to not be able to get your garment on (ask me how I know).
As I sewed my 3rd or 4th Dreamy Dolman out of drapey knits, I thought to myself, “As long as I used elastic or a knit waist and neckband, this could totally be woven.” And I just so happened to have picked up a pretty crinkle rayon from JoAnn Fabrics, not knowing what it was meant to become.
Let me begin by saying that crinkle was *perhaps* not my best choice. I felt like one of the designers on Project Runway, who chose a fabric they’d never worked with before and it came back to bite them in the butt. It turned out in the end but was very shifty during the cutting process. I digress…
- All I did differently to make it woven was add 3/4″ to the neckline on the Front & Back Bodices, and instead of a fabric neckband, I cut 3/4″ wide elastic to the length listed for the neckband of my size.
- Sew per the usual instructions up to Step 6, and then you’ll add the elastic once the shoulder seams are sewn. Sew your elastic in a loop (make sure you don’t have any twists before you sew)!
- Quarter your elastic and the neckline of your Dolman.
- With the elastic on the *inside* of the bodice, match up the quarter points and replace pins. This will help you stretch the elastic when you sew without stretching the fabric on top. Sew all around neckline with a stretch stitch.
- Fold the neckline over 3/4” towards the inside/wrong side, so that the elastic is sandwiched between 2 layers of fabric. You can clip in place if you want, but I like to live on the edge & fold as I go (especially since you have the guide of the elastic to know how much to fold over).
- On your sewing machine, pick a plain old straight stitch. I set my length to 3. With your fabric & elastic secured under the presser foot (in down position), lower your needle and backstitch.
- Ensuring the presser foot is down again, stretch the elastic with one hand in front of and one hand behind the needle.
- Anytime you need to adjust your hands or the fabric, make sure the needle is down before you do. Otherwise, your fabric can shift and the stitching will be inconsistent.
- When you’re finished topstitching, continue the pattern construction per the instructions!
I made this crop top version without any mods- using a knit for the waist & neckband and a cotton woven for the bodice. Using the flutter sleeve version, the sleeve was still useful for nursing access (but your mileage may vary- definitely make a muslin first if you’re counting on this for nursing access with a woven fabric).
I also would recommend adding about an inch of length to the front & back bodice if you are a C cup and above, since you lose all vertical stretch with this hack.
