A Refashioned Top

This weekend's project was a refashion of a RTW knit top. Coldwater Creek used to sell these nice silk t-shirts and shells. Alas, no longer available!  I own several, and they're still in generally good condition although being worn all the time. Well, at least the body...

The neckline of this one was in terrible condition, but the color is so versatile...What to do?

Time for a trip to Jo-Ann's for a suitable trim where I bought a yard of pretty lace. I preshrank it by soaking it in a glass of hot water, then shaped and steamed it into a curve to dry. Once prepared, I pinned it to the top to get an idea of how it would look.

Then I removed the lace and cut a curve into the front of the top. I initially placed the lace on the form about 1" lower than the original neckline, but I ended up cutting a curve that was 1 1/2" lower. I chalked the desired curve on half of the neckline, then flipped the cut piece over and used it as a guide for cutting the second half.

I originally planned to simply serge the edge and attach the lace by machine, but that didn't work so well. I struggled with the ribbed texture of the fabric and couldn't get a good finish. So I ended up evenly folding the wrong side over to the right side and hand stitching it into place.

Then I laid the edge of the lace at the fold and hand stitched it in place. In effect, basting it into place but with an invisible stitch. I finished up with a couple rows of narrow zig zag. One row is right next to the fold, the other near the raw edge along  a design line in the lace. Although the main purpose was to attach the lace, the  zig zag also had the effect of stabilizing the neckline

No photos of these stages. After the serger fail,  I was just improvising to find a way to make this project work.

Here's a closer view of the finished neck edge.

So for the cost of the lace and a little time,  I can get a lot more use out of a wardrobe basic!