Progress on the Strappy Sundress

I realized last night that a dress like the one I'm envisioning is going to need some built-in foundation garments -- namely, I'm going to have to include a shelf bra.  Hmmm.  I've never sewn anything with a shelf bra although I've bought plenty of tops/bathing suits/exercise gear that included one.  So before I work on the dress, I figured I'd have to do a practice garment. 

I used the floral since I already have a couple of garments done in this fabric and it makes a perfect muslin since the geometric print that I'm going to use for the final dress has the same stretch, hand, and drape. 

The shelf bra is made by simply duplicating the top portion of the shirt, sewing the side seams and then stitching the neckline edges into the binding along with the outer fabric.  Then I folded the hem of the shelf bra to a comfortable length and sewed in 3/4 inch elastic to keep everything in place.

I was also going to use a zigzag to attach the binding in the same way you would use bias strips on a woven.  But I discovered with this practice top that that technique leaves you with 6 layers of fabric to sew through, which is a little bulky.  I may leave the raw edge of the binding exposed on the inside of the dress just to get rid of one of those layers.  And if I use the ladder stitch and sew very carefully, I may be able to cover that raw edge with the seam, similar to a coverstitch effect.

Ah! Experiments. I love em!!