Replies

1. 
   jjgg | Sep 05, 2007 12:38am | #1

   Blingy,
   You can change the back if you want to, or leave it plain.
   To change the back into a princess - if there are no darts in the existing back, all you need to do is draw in the princess line, cut and add seam allowance. Are you making it shoulder princess or armcye princess? for shoulder, you go to the middle of the shoulder line, for armcye, it's usually about 1/3 of the way up from the underarm seam, but really, you can make it go anywhere you want it to.

2. 
   Tatsy | Sep 05, 2007 05:57am | #2

   Blingy,

   Princess seams in the back are an excellent way to deal with swayback or ample curves below the waist. If the side seams pull at all over the hip, slice the back pieces where you'd like to, add extra tissue in the needed areas, and pinfit a muslin before you sew the fashion fabric.  For swayback, take out (or some experts say add more) tissue on the horizontal line at the back waist.  This will put the pattern below the waist at a different angle. You can leave the horizontal change in as a new seam or just lap the pattern pieces and cut on the new lines.  I found playing with princess seams to be fun and the fit was much better than anything else I'd tried.

   Tatsy

3. 
   Teaf5 | Sep 06, 2007 03:14am | #3

   It is possible to change from darts to princess seaming, but it takes a lot of time and space, and the outcome, from my experience, isn't worth the effort.

   If you can find an on-sale pattern with princess seaming that is the same size and company as the darted dress you like, you can use the new pattern for the body of the dress and the old one for the design details you like.  You'll get professionally drafted and accurate curves of the princess seaming with a lot fewer headaches.