Well, these are probably gussets, but I like the word godet better.Thanks to a suggestion from Terri K and help from my sewing sista's at ASG retreat this past weekend, my Stella top is finally finished and even wearable. I started this a while back, very soon after TWS issued this new pattern. My first attempt led to some frustration as the hips were entirely too tight. I probably should have made a muslin, but maybe I would not have added the gussets. And I like the gussets.
 |
| gusset over hip |
In order to insert gussets, I opened up the side seams (which had been serged). Then I tried on the top to see how far they wanted to gape at the hip. This gave me a fair idea how big the gussets needed to be. Then I cut two rectangles of fabric on the bias and slipped them under the openings in the side. Next I just top-stitched them in place.
June at retreat was able to see that one gusset looked pretty good and the other was wonky. Wonky in a bad way. So I removed the wonky piece, placed that rectangle over the good gusset, and traced the correct placement with chalk. Then I just slipped the wonky gusset back under the opening at the hip, aligning the chalk marks with the seams and top-stitched it back on. This process took lots of careful pressing along the way, but that's the gist of it.
Friends at the retreat pointed out that the gussets actually mimic the neckline on this top and so the gussets are a nice design detail. Of course, I worried that the gussets would simply scream "My hips are too big so I had to add some fabric here." But I don't think that happened in the end.
 |
| TSW gallery piece |
It is still a bit funky. You can see that in the gallery pieces at TSW web site. The grain line on the front of the shirt is just slightly on the bias, but I'm sure it is intentional. This gives the shirt a little kick at the front and (with my bias gussets) at the side. I think I like it.
