Rose Became a Tank Top

This is how Jalie’s Rose Became a Tank Top

There’s ALWAYS a story. Here’s mine; I needed/wanted a tank top. In THIS fabric. (I’ll tell you why in another post) It had to have wide enough shoulders to cover bra straps. And it had to be loose enough and long enough to be flattering. So I took (big) liberties and Jalie’s Rose became a tank top.

Here’s a post on the original Rose, #3881

I still really like the fit of the shoulders and armscye, so for me, Rose is a good starting point.

The Front:

My new version is made of an ITY knit. (Read here if you’d like more info.) That meant I could skip the front opening, and cut the front on the fold. No bust darts needed (especially for me, lol) so I pinned them closed. There was a bit of a ripple in the paper pattern at the side, but I smoothed it out with my hands. It’s important that the center front is on the fold. I lowered the front neck by 4 inches, and widened it by 1 inch. After adjusting the length of the side seam to match the lengthened back, shortened the center front by 5 inches. My diagram is a little wonky, but I did keep the hem at center front perpendicular to the center front for 3 inches, then swooped down to meet the longer side seam. I kept that area perpendicular to the side seam for 3 inches as well.

The Back:

I pinned the back yoke to the lower back overlapping the seam so it was one piece. I kept the back area at the pieces would have joined, even, ignoring the pleat at center back. Note the red line at center back, I placed that on the fold. I raised the back neck for 1 inch (to accommodate my rounding shoulders) and widened it by 1 inch to match the front neck.

To figure out the back length I measured myself from the base of my back neck to just under my buttocks. (On me that’s 31 inches and I added 3/4 for a hem.) I lengthened the entire back to that measurement by adding to the bottom and continuing the angle of the original side seam.

Bands:

My bands are cut from self-fabric, 2 inches wide. After joining the shoulders, I measured around the neck at what would be the seam-line (3/8″ from the cut edge). Using my calculator, I multiplied the measurement by .85 (point 85) and cut my strip to that measurement. I did not add anything for seam allowance. After serging the short ends together to form a loop, I folded it with wrong sides together then quarter pinned both the loop and the neckline before serging it into place. My fabric was fairly manageable, but if your’s is really slippery, I suggest basting the raw edges of the folded neckband together before applying it.

To make measuring the armholes easy, measure them before you join the side seams, and it’s done the same way as the neck band; measure at the seam line times .85 (point 85).

I used Heat ‘n Bond Featherlite cut into 3/4″ wide strips to fuse and stabilize the hems, then used a narrow cover-stitch to complete the hem. I also used the same narrow cover-stitch to topstitch the neck and armbands. And that’s how Rose became a tank top.

In Conclusion of how Rose Became a Tank Top:

I LOVE the way this turned out. I’ve received numerous compliments on my “nice top” and don’t we all just LOVE to hear those words. I’m about to make another, in a solid red to co-ordinate with “something” and plan to do the neck and arm finish a little different.