Tank Top Edits

Types of stitches. Overcast stitch and running stitch.

     Sewing is one of those basic handy skills that I like revisiting when the need is dire. It requires patience, hand-eye coordination, and focus. Generally, it’s both enjoyable and practical. To be clear, the sewing I am referring to is not creating a work of art or making clothes from scratch. It is the type of sewing that consists of simple techniques like running stitch and overcast stitch**. It’s the type of sewing that builds on something that already exists like pants or a jacket. Some examples include replacing a button or “taking in” a shirt.  

The top (post-ruffles cut).

    In the middle of winter last year, I spotted a beautiful summer tank top. The type of tank top that takes your breath away and steals your digits. I was in love with the gray-white scattered pattern, the thick fabric (a quality piece!) and the square neckline. And to be honest, the price point; half off at 14.99, plus, the excitement that there was only one left in my size. One caveat, however, was that the top came with ruffles. I’m not a big fan of tops with ruffles or puffy sleeves. Although these styles look good on lots of people, sadly, I am not one of them. While examining the picture on the Gap website, I noticed how the ruffles appeared loosely attached to the top, as if they were the final touch. To me, this meant the ruffles could easily be detached with a simple snip. The love for the top and possibility for adjustment piqued my interest to purchase it. 

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    Once the top arrived, I tried it on to see how it looked on me. Upon doing so, I recognized the two kinks that needed to be adjusted: as suspected, (1) the ruffles needed to go, and (2) the top was loose and needed tightening. Here’s how I fixed these issues (refer to crude sketch below for a visual):

The plan. First, cut the ruffles off. Second, add new buttons farther from the old buttons.
Third, fold displaced fabric to take the top in from the back. 

    (1) Ruffles. The easiest step. I simply cut close to the edge of the strap, and it was like the top never had ruffles to begin with.

    (2) Taking in the top from the back. Initially, I sewed new buttons farther away from the loops to enhance the natural tightening effect the old buttons had. While there was said effect, it was only localized to the upper part of the top. When the loops were secured over the new buttons, there was an odd fold that ran down the back of the top as the displaced fabric had not been cut out. The fold created an exaggerated, voluminous A-line look, which contrasted the flat, simple front side of the top. In short, the top didn’t look seamless and it wasn’t the clean look I was going for.

    I ended up taking the top in about 1.5 inches, by folding in the fabric between the old buttons and the new buttons. I then sewed two parallel lines to flatten and merge the folded fabric to the top, one line was a running stitch and the other line was an overcast stitch. I did the running stitch on the inside of the top, while doing the overcast stitch on the outside. I opted to keep the folded fabric and not cut it out because it's always nice to have the option to revert back to original sizing. 

    A good thing about working with this top was that the thick floral embroidery design masked sewing imperfections, like not sewing a straight running stitch. On top of that, because the thread matched the fabric so closely, hardly any artificial adjustments from an amateur like myself were visible, unless you looked close enough.

        Left image. New buttons sewed on about 1.5 inches to the right of the old buttons. Right image. Left arrow shows the chalk outline of the overcast stitch, done on the outside of the top. Right arrow shows the running stitch, done on the inside of the top.  

 
Left image. Close-up of the overcast stitch. Right image. Close-up of running stitch.

    I’ve worn this top a few times since tailoring it, and it’s a pretty solid top. You can hardly tell there have been any alterations unless you look at the back closely. The tank has worked well for casual days when paired with jeans and my trusty Stan Smiths. By cutting off the ruffles, the top’s real beauty, the square neckline, got to shine. And who doesn't love a top that fits? I haven’t seen many simple styles like this; hence, the desire to create it. When it’s within my “expertise,” mini projects like this can be satisfying--especially when you get to make good use of the project’s end product. I look forward to the next tailoring project that comes my way.

Until next time

**Credits to names of stitches I shared: https://www.textileschool.com/304/hand-stitch-types/