For those of you lucky enough to be experiencing an actual Summer, as opposed to us Londoners who seem to be stuck in some kind of dreary climatic Groundhog Day, here is the quickest of DIY refashioning projects - no sewing required - to transform a plain old tank top into a sexy dipped hem crop top perfect for those hazy Summer barbecue Sundays.
You will need:
- an old tank top
- fabric scissors
- tailors chalk
- studs or embellishments (optional)
Step 1
Fold your top in half lengthways so the folds run down the centre front and centre back. Mark a curved line shorter at the front of the top, dipping slightly lower at the back. When you're happy with the line you've drawn, cut away the excess fabric. That pretty much completes the dipped hem part, and seeing as the top you used is probably a jersey fabric, there's no need to sew up the hem.
Step 2 (optional)
If you're happy with just the dipped hem, you're done! But if you're like me, keep going... I decided to embellish my top with some metal studs, and really the possibilities are endless - iron on patches, play around with fabric pens, sew on some fringing, whatever you so desire to showcase across your chest!
x Elisalex
-
Elisalex de Castro Peake
Comments on this post (11)
I love the studs! I made a racerback tank top out of an oversized T-shirt, check it out here: http://samthingtodo.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/diy-workout-tank/
— Sam Dizon
Thanks! And so quick and easy too!
— byhandlondon
Wow, this is really clever! Love the studs on the back!
— Rachel Richardson
Amazing! And um, we need to see that Prince costume methinks x
— byhandlondon
Loves it! I got some studs leftover from my Prince costume last year (yeah, I won that costume context) and I’ve been wondering what to do with them. Problem solved!
— Heather Lou
Thank you! Fabric scissors are basically just sharp scissors that you don’t use for paper. Using fabric scissors to cut paper will make them blunt and using blunt scissors to cut fabric will ruin your fabric… You can buy fabric scissors from any haberdashery. Hope this helps!
— byhandlondon
That’s quite pretty. What are fabric scissors? I assume not the normal ones..
— leillah
So cute! Love yours x
— byhandlondon
Thanks! We got our studs from eBay – just search metal studs and filter it down to crafts – you can get press on ones like ours, iron on or even sew on I think. Have fun!!
— byhandlondon
I did this just the other day! I like yours =D
http://agastronomescloset.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/asymmetrical-refashion/
— 7cakes
I really like this! I just have one question – where can I find metal studs like that to attach to my tanks? Thanks!
— Megan