What I've been up to lately...

Friday, April 20, 2012

Ruched V-Neck Top

I made this top for the Spring Top Sewalong at Made by Rae.
It was inspired by a Garnet Hill tank top that you can see here.
My soft, feminine spring top used to be a plain men's XL T-shirt that I got for $5.95 at H&M.
Sewing this top represents lots of firsts for me...it's the first time I attempted ruching (and used elastic thread in the bobbin) and the first time I used a double needle.  Both the double needle and the elastic in the bobbin took a bit of patience...but they gave me the opportunity to get to know the inside of my bobbin case and sewing machine a little more intimately as it had to be untangled, taken apart and put back together several times.  Eventually the kinks worked themselves out and the rouching turned out great.
I drafted the pattern by tracing a tank top that fits me nicely and then drawing out a v-shaped neckline and panel that fit the shirt pattern.

My inspiration was a tank top, but I wanted to add sleeves, so I made the sleeve pattern by cutting up an old worn out t-shirt and pinning "practice" sleeves on until I found a sleeve shape I liked.
The embellishment around the v -neck and on the front panel are the serged seams that I cut out of the t-shirt while harvesting the fabric!

So, what do you think of my new favorite shirt?
Wish me luck in the sewalong contest!


You can see all of the spring top entries here on Flickr.

9 comments:

  1. Hi! Visiting from tt&j. I love your top! And you make it sound so simple to make! If only I were a sewer! :)

    Im going to poke around your site a little more.. I would love for you to share this at my Friday link party! :)

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  2. I love it! It is so so cute! Thanks for linking up. :)
    ~Natalie

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  3. Oooooh, I love it - I need more tips on that elastic bobbin thread - sounds difficult but looks amazing!

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    1. Thanks. I'm by no means an expert with the elastic thread, but it is definitely a technique that I'm going to practice and use some more! There are a bunch of tutorials about it out there. The one that gave me the confidence to actually try it is from Dana at Made and you can find it here. It's for ruched leggings, but the technique applies and her tutorials are so clear and easy to follow. Best of luck in your elastic bobbin adventures!

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  4. Cute! I like it! FOund you from Serendipity's Linky party

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  5. WOW! You did such an amazing job!

    PS: I look forward to seeing you this week at, Show Me What You Got Tuesday's @ Our Delightful Home via: http://ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com/2012/04/live-linky-party-11.html

    Mrs. Delightful
    www.ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com

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  6. This shirt is so cute! Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
    Rachel
    adventuresofadiymom.blogspot.com

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  7. What a cute top! I would love for you to share this with my "Unveil Your Genius" link party.
    http://taylornorris.blogspot.com/2012/04/unveil-your-genius-link-party-8.html

    Happy Sunday!

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