Sewing Scraps

I just realized I haven't posted about the nifty top I made a couple of weeks ago. I think it's been at least 2 weeks since I made it, I'm a little fuzzy on the timeline. But, either way, one Thursday night i just sat down and started to work on something to keep me busy. I still had a lot of elephant fabric leftover from me messing up and having to get even more (and I still do have a ton left) so I decided to make a shirt. I decided on a sleeveless shirt because I didn't want to use a pattern, mostly because I was feeling a tad lazy and also wanted to see what i could do without a pattern. 

Here you can see the front and side panel.

I didn't want just a solid tank, that seemed too easy and dull. I wanted to spice it up, but I also didn't want to use the same fabric I had used for my skirt and collar in the fashion show. I have accumulated quite a number of scrap fabrics that range in size, color, and type of fabric. I settled on a white fabric with a satin feel. I went about trying to figure out how big to cut it, what my neckline would be, how to finish everything, especially the seams since I don't have a serger. I had sewn most of the top together when I had the sudden epiphany that I had forgotten darts! So I had to figure out where to put them and how they should be, etc. But i managed to put 2 in, making the front lay correctly and not bulge and bunch. I used the white fabric as side panels and since it frays easily, decided to tuck and roll the top and bottom before sewing the pieces to the shirt. Then I did the same on the inside with the elephant fabric, making my side seams finished. I had used the same technique from when I made my elephant dress to finish the arms and neckline  though that required I cut down the back. This made hemming the bottom really easy because now I just had to tuck and roll and sew in a straight line. However, when I sewed the back together and tried it on I realized it fit but it was very snug at the bottom.My solution was to insert a smaller panel (about half the size of a side panel) of the white fabric in the back. Finally I was done...except now I had new dilemmas. For starters, since I had used larger pieces on the sides than I needed in order to finish the seams, I was left with even smaller scraps as options for the unexpected back panel. Secondly, the panel was short and doesn't reach all the way to the neckline. This would be okay except for the fact that since I had already hemmed the bottom the two sides were now somehow uneven at the top...

The Front.

The Back.

I can't decide what to do about it yet. I am debating between two options right now. First is to just putting a think ribbon or strip of the elephant fabric there, hiding the difference completely. Option two is attaching a ribbon at each shoulder and down the neckline to the edges above the back panel and then let them hang loose so I could tie them together to make a bow. Besides that the shirt is finished, not amazingly made, but done and looks very classy.