This is probably my last project before leaving for Spain for three weeks. I’m going to miss my sewing machine sooo much!
When I first started sewing, I thrifted some clothes with the intention of salvaging their fabric. The T-shirt I used for this project was one of those. Only five years later, here’s the result!
As you can see, the T-shirt wasn’t awful, but it was too big and boxy, and of course, none of the stripes matched. I didn’t use a pattern, but I traced around a T-shirt I already owned. This didn’t go so well: as you can see, the armholes have a tendency to gape a little sometimes, depending on the way I stand. I tried to minimize that by adding gathers at the shoulder straps, which worked only partially, but I liked the gathers and they made the gaping look intentional, so I kept them anyway.
ETA: I managed to get rid of the gaping completely after all, by taking in the top of the side seams.
I used Megan Nielsen’s easy knit neckline method for the neckline and the armholes (because I didn’t have enough fabric for another method, nor did I want to buy any contrast fabric). It was easy indeed and the result looks really clean with the twin needle topstitching, but I find the fusible hemming tape I used a touch too stiff.
For the hem, I also used a twin needle, but no hemming tape. That’s the method I always use to hem knits, and it always yields a nice result. This time my hem looked horribly wavy at first, but after pressing it looks perfect.
All in all, this fabric was such a pleasure to sew! All the problems I had came from the drafting part, none came from the sewing part. It was nice being reminded that knits are easy to sew, contrary to popular belief (and what my last knit project would have had me think!).
This is not the project of the year or anything, and as I said, it does have a few flaws, but I still think it’s going to see a lot of wear. It goes really well tucked in my Beignet and Chardon and I can also picture it layered with a cardigan at the end of summer. I’ll be packing it for my holiday in Spain, that’s for sure!
Such a cute refashion! i’m sure you’ll weat this tank top a lot more than the original tshirt.
Hehe, I’ve already been wearing it all day yesterday!
joli, joli ce petit top!! très bonne récup de t-shirt en tout cas!
merci pour l’astuce “easy knit neckline” je vais retenir, ne la connaissais pas.. aiguilles à double pointes c’est difficile? je crois que je m’en suis jamais servi…
bonnes vacances en tout cas!!
Pratique, non, cette méthode d’encolure? Je ne me doutais pas qu’il était possible de faire comme ça…
Pour les aiguilles doubles, c’est super simple, vraiment! Voilà un exemple d’explications: http://www.petitcitron.com/index.php/Materiel-de-couture/aiguille-double-jumelee.html.
Il ne faut juste pas oublier de bien baisser la tension du fil supérieur pour éviter un boudin entre les deux piqûres.
À bientôt!
The gathers are a nice touch. I don’t notice any gaping.
Thanks! The gaping was not that noticeable, it’s true. But I managed to fix it afterwards, so now there’s no gaping at all anymore! 🙂
So pretty! Enjoy wearing your lovely new top in Spain.
Thank you! 🙂
So simple, so cute! Stripes are such a classic. Love it 🙂
Thank you! Glad you like it! 🙂
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