From seamstress error to style accent

I have finished the first of two shirts for my daughter's SWAP. I used the same pattern and the same material (interlock) and have two very different shirts! Aside from the obvious difference in material color, they each had unique errors that created an opportunity for nifty fixes that make the shirts more interesting.

The solid purple shirt was finished except for the neckline when I had my model try it on. I decided to opt for a lettuce edged finish on the neck because my daughter had really loved the "curly" effect of the hemlines. I measured and cut my binding, but neglected to take into account the seam allowance. When it was done, the neck was much too wide for my skinny girl. Inspired by the pink thread on my serger and the matching rib knit in the SWAP pile, I added a longer ruffle under the first. Don't look too closely at the raw edges in the shirt!

The second shirt was done with the optional piecing on the front. I still had the full front handy from cutting out the first shirt, and cut that piece out instead of the back piece. I had cut these pieces out of the sleeves of a barely worn turtleneck, and didn't want to "waste" the main section. I placed the back pattern piece on the wrong front piece, and cut it out, making it shorter than the original. I cut the front shorter to match, figuring that I was making the shirt long anyhow, so it should be fine. Ha! After seeing her dance around with her belly almost hanging out in the first shirt I made, I definitely needed the length I had cut off. I debated my options. Contrasting ruffle to match the neck? Lettuce edge instead of hem this one too? I thought both the ruffle and the lettuce edge would detract from the flower print, so I opted to add another band of flowers at the hemline. Voila! It maintained the clean look and fixed the length issue.