Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Tank Top into Baby Dress -- TUTORIAL #2

Yes, it's another baby tank dress tutorial!!

I just couldn't get that baby tank dress out of my mind, and HAD to try it again with a different style of tank -- just to see if it would work. Here is what I did!


This time I started with a women's size M tank top. (I love the braided trim!) I cut it apart at the side seams, and cut the straps where they connected at the back.


Like version #1 I folded it right sides together at the center front, and pinned down a few inches.


I opened it to see whether the strap placement looked likely for my sister's almost-one-year-old.


I sewed only as far as where I wanted the bodice to end, then cut along the stitching, leaving approximately a 1/4" seam allowance. Then I cut across perpendicular to the fold.
**You could also sew this center front portion of the bodice with a gather instead of making it straight!**


I laid it flat, wrong side up, and folded down the excess to create a box pleat.


Carefully holding my box pleat (pin? no way!), I flipped it over, then folded the "bodice" down so it was folded right sides together. (Make sense? It will when you look at the next step!)


I sewed all the way across from side to side to create the bodice!
**Here, you could go ahead and cut across the entire bodice and do gathers instead of the box pleat!**


Obviously the hems will not match up at the bottom since you've taken a small chunk out of the length in the front. I remedied this by first cutting the front the shape I wanted, then lining it up at the top. (I still did the "scrunch" at the side seams of the front like in Tank Dress #1 to create a little interest in the bodice, and even matched up the pattern in the fabric!) Then I serged the bottom with a lettuce-edge rolled hem. You could also re-hem the entire thing, or just cut it off and leave as is -- the knit shouldn't fray.


Ta-Da! Obviously this one is way too big for JellyBean, but it should be perfect for my niece!

4 comments:

Sandra said...

Great! Realy useful!!!!!!

Leah said...

Until I came to your site, I had a love-hate relationship with sewing: I loved the idea of it, loved the idea of using my machine, but hated the actual process. I find patterns to be confusing and time-consuming, and I find most online tutorials shaking my head in confusion. Your step-by-step directions and pictures are amazing! I sat down tonight and did a sewing project with no sighing, swearing, or sweating. Thanks--I look forward to seeing more of your work!

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