Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tamar from Tamar Hope Designs on the blog today to show how to add a surplice neckline to any dress! A surplice neckline is a pretty design element that features a crossed neckline. It looks a bit like a wrap dress at the neckline and was just the thing for my daughter’s Halloween ninja costume. I used Olearia, created a surplice neckline, and used binding to finish all the raw edges. You can use this look to create your own ninja costume, or you can add a surplice neckline to any bodice for a pretty variation on your next dress or top. Here’s a picture of the finished ninja costume. My daughter was pretty thrilled!
Cutting
When cutting out the bodice, draw a line from the high waistline to the shoulder seam. Trim off the fabric along this line.
Next, create the other side of the neckline by placing your existing bodice or dress right sides together with your fabric. Then cut your new bodice piece to mirror your existing piece.
When both pieces are placed right side up they should form a “V” with the sides matching up nicely.
Next sew the back to the front pieces right sides together at the shoulder seams.
If you ended up cutting into the shoulder seam when you cut your surplice neckline, you will need to open the shoulder seam and trim the excess from the back bodice/dress piece. Make sure you cut a nice smooth arc as this will be your new neckline.
Now, take a strip of knit fabric 1 ⅞ “ wide with the stretch going the long way. Sew this strip with a ⅜ “ seam allowance right sides together to the neckline of the dress, stretching slightly as you go. Stretch the binding slightly. Do not stretch the neckline of the dress.
Flip your bodice over and press the binding away from the bodice. Then fold the edge to meet the seam and press
Fold the folded edge over the fabric and clip or pin in place. Topstitch from the topside making sure to catch the folded over binding on the backside.
Lay the surplice neckline out making sure all the fabric is smooth. Tack the crossover parts to the sides of the bodice. Then sew the side seams as directed in the pattern tutorial.
At this point, you can add sleeves if you want. If you want to make the dress sleeveless, you can apply binding to the armholes. To bind the armholes, I like to take another strip of knit fabric 1 ⅞” wide. This time fold the strip in half lengthwise and stitch it around the arm opening right sides together using a ⅜ “ seam allowance.
Fold the band to the inside of the dress and topstitch from the right side of the dress.
Finally, for the ninja tunic, I shortened the dress version of Olearia to a tunic length. I then applied binding to the hem in the same way that I applied binding to the neckline.
For the undershirt, I made a long sleeve, hooded Dogwood Tee. My daughter is so excited to wear her costume this year! What will you make with a surplice neckline? The possibilities are endless!
Happy Creating!
-Tamas