A: To make the dresses from #307, just combine the #307 with #207 using the dress length from #207 for the underlay. Then we made narrow ties and added them to the side seams to pull in a little of the fullness. It was very easy! See the entire newsletter article.

About the NC#110 pattern, I have never personally made a dress from it, but it would be very easy to do just by lengthening the bottom edges of the top pattern. It would be very straight cut and fun. You could add an elastic or drawstring casing across the back to add some shaping if desired. It would be really fun.

For a sundress, NC#105 is great! You can either make it with the ruffled sleeves or just leave off the sleeves. We also recommend our new slip dress pattern NC#301! It has some great looks for summer! NC#204 is also darling if you just leave off the sleeves.

Look at the pictures on our website and in our catalog and see how the moms are wearing the slings, then try again. Baby's usually love the sling, you just need to practice with it. As your baby gets older, you will be able to try lots of positions in the sling, but for new baby's the cradle position works best.

Q: I just finished sewing Nursing Classics #203 with the vest overlay. It turned out beautiful, but it is a little too big. I am eight months pregnant so it was a little hard to estimate which size I needed. I would like to take it in through the shoulders and the waist. Do you have any suggestions for me to do this. I have done a lot of basic sewing, but would appreciate any suggestions for sizing this dress down. Thanks! Juli

A: The best bet on the shoulders is to take a bigger seam or a tuck there if you can do it without distorting the neckline. Sometimes this is possible wihout unpicking the facing. Just try the dress on and grab the shoulders and pin a larger seam in place to see how the neckline. Then try basting in a bigger seam with a long stitch to see how it looks.

If it looks ok, pin the excess fabric to the back and hand baste into place. Press well. It may be just fine! If it is too bulky or doesn't lay right, you may need to unpick the neckline facings etc at the shoulder seam and resew it with a bigger seam... (1/2" or so as a starter). If you have to unpick the neckline, it is a lot of work, but can be done!

The side seams are the easiest, just sew a bigger seam starting at the underarm and taper to the waist as necessary, the ties can pull in extra fullness as well.

Whatever alterations you make, make a note on the pattern, to remind you ... also to use a smaller size next time!

A: There are a few ways to fix the neckline if you have a hollow chest or narrow shoulders.

First... you can bring the shoulders in by drawing a new cutting line for the shoulders and neckline by proportionately coming in closer to center front... also by raising the neckline. Don't be afraid to experiment, just draw smooth round curves. You can also trace new necklines from the NC#209 pattern.

Another way to do it is to literally "pinch" the paper pattern at the center front the amount of the neckline gap... 1/2" or 1/4" or so and then tape it down... smoothing the tissue and ignoring any "bumps" in the tissue, cut this new neckline. This will remove excess fabric at the center front and get rid of some of the gapping.

I would try either or both of these methods on some cheap fabric as an experiment and once you are satisfied with the fit of the neckline, then you can use more expensive fabric. Have fun with this, I know you can get the fit you desire.

One more thing to try on a gapping neckline is to adjust the angle of the shoulder seam. It often makes a huge difference. Some women have more squared shoulders and some more sloping, so just getting that angle right can make all the difference. To adjust this, try on your top and then pull up each shoulder edge slightly until the neckline is lying smoothly. Pin into place and resew the shoulder. Mark these corrections on your pattern so you will have it all ready for the next time you sew.

A: This sometimes happens with ALL of our patterns that have central nursing openings. Sometimes the overlay will not match the underlay exactly due to several reasons. When you hem the edges of the nursing opening in the underlay the stitching creates a soft "gathering" or "easing" that will often pull up just a bit at center front causing a discrepancy in the fit. Also, the seam at the edge of the overlay may cause the side edges to pull up just a bit and distort the shape of the overlay. It can also have a variation in size due to sloppy cutting or just natural stretching of fabric. On some of our later patterns NC#204) we have tried to compensate for this phenomenon, but in the earlier patterns you will have to make your own adjustments.

The most important thing to do if this happens is to make sure the overlay lays flat on top of the underlay before you sew it all together. Once you have it postioned properly, then you should TRIM the overlay to fit the underlay as closely as possible. If you force the bottom edges to match exactly, but cause the top to have big wrinkles or gathers, your dress or top will not hang properly and will look very homemade.

Remember that fabric can be molded and shaped to do whatever you want it to do. It isn't so important that all your edges match up perfectly as it is that the dress or top hangs beautifully and is finished professionally.