Creative Mom Cafe

A young girl standing in line in front of me Saturday was wearing the cutest tank top. It was a simple boxy top, almost nothing more than a flowing rectangle with straps. It had a very 60s feel to it that I loved and the looseness of it looked like it would be perfect on hot summer days.

I looked for a pattern online to use but the closest I could find was one from Simplicity #3882. Look at the third top on the top row. Unfortunately I never found a good free pattern. Still, I was determined to make a tank top like this so I improvised a little.

First I measured around my bust. I wanted a straight, flowing top coming down so I decided to make it as wide as the widest part. Then I measured from my chest down to the top of my hip for length. I added a few inches for seam allowance and cut two rectangles by those detentions for the front and back. For the top panel and straps I used a different material rather than all one style. I cut two long pieces as wide as the front and back panels and 5 inches wide. Each was folded in half to create a 2 1/5 inch double panel around the top. For the straps I measured from across my shoulders for length and from shoulder to shoulder to determine how far apart to put the straps.

Once I had it all cut out it was just a matter of pinning and sewing. Pinning it took several tries as I found I had to readjust how wide I wanted it to be. There is a good reason for the saying “Measure twice, cut once”. That goes for sewing side hems as well. I had planned to make the top a straight line down, but in the pinning and adjusting I decided that I really did not like the way it looked. I changed the shape a little to give some curve to the sides so that it flowed with my body shape better.

The last thing to do was sew it all up and slip it on without being poked by pins repeatedly. I’m very happy with the results and cannot wait for a warm day to wear it out and about. With the extra material I have I’m thinking of making a matching scarf or headband to wear with it. The material is really cute and fun. You can see a close up of the print here. The white has very faint off-white stars across it, but you can only see them when the light hits the fabric just right.

Anyone else feel like giving this top a try? I would love to see the results other people get.

*edited to add* After trying it on a few more times today I decided to change a few things. I hemmed it up shorter, more to hip length. I also tightened the top up a little bit more to give a bit more curve. I’ll try to share a new picture later.

sewing, tank top, no pattern