Tip: if the fabric does not stretch enough in width, make the pattern one size larger.
You will need
- Graph paper ()
- Pencil
- Ruler ()
- Copy wheel
- Measuring tape ()
- Stretchable fabric at least 50 cm long, 120 cm wide
- Double needle for jersey
- Sewing threads
- Scissors ()
- Pins()
Description of work
Step 1: Draw a pattern
Copy the pattern of your size onto a piece of graph paper:- black line - size S
- green - size M
- blue - size L
- the gray line indicates the line of the upper edge of the back
- 1 cell = 2 cm.
Step 2: cut out the details
Now you need to fold the fabric along a straight thread, pin the paper patterns of the front and back with a lower straight line (= middle line, fold line) on the fold of the fabric, add 1 cm allowance on all cuts (side seam, top edge), 2.5 cm allowance on hem the bottom and cut out 1 piece of front and back with a fold. Transfer all the marks from the paper pattern to the parts.Then cut out the strips along the bias (at an angle of 45° to the straight thread of the fabric):
- 1 bias tape 60 cm long and 10 cm wide for piping the front neckline and
- 1 bias tape 140 cm long and 4 cm wide for edging the front and back necklines and straps.
Attention: make all seams with a double needle so that they remain stretchable. In the pictures, the seams are indicated by a red line, a lighter color is the back side, a darker color is the front side.
Step 3: Stitch the facing of the front neckline
Fold the bias tape for facing the front neckline in the middle lengthwise in half with the wrong side inward and iron it. Pin the piping right side onto the front side of the front so that the middle of the piping is aligned with the mark for the depth of the front cutout, and the pressed fold lies below, stitch to the top edge of the top. Sew seam allowances together. Iron the facing upwards and place the seam allowances on the front. Cut off the protruding short ends of the facing so that they align exactly with the side cuts of the front.
Step 4: Sew front and back and hem
Before laying it on the back, right side to right side, pin along the side edges. Sew side seams. Sew seam allowances together and press to back. Overcast the bottom edge, then iron it to the wrong side to a width of 2.5 cm. Sew the hem with a double needle from the front side.
Step 5: Finish the back and armhole with bias tape
On a long bias tape, iron two long edges onto the wrong side to a width of 1 cm - these will be hem allowances (see picture on the left), then fold the tape in half lengthwise and iron the fold. Unfold one half of the binding into one layer. Place this cut on the wrong side of the back neckline and pin it so that the straps on each side between the front and back from the sharp ends of the front protrude upward to the same length (see picture on the right). Sew the bias tape, the stitch runs exactly along the fold of the ironed seam allowances, seam width is 1 cm. Iron the seam allowances together onto the bias tape.
Wrap the bias tape on the wrong side around the seam allowances and pin or baste. The folds on the front and back sides should match. Topstitch the binding and straps to the edge using a double jersey needle.
Step 6: Sew the Straps
Pin the protruding open ends of the straps onto the back from the wrong side along the alignment marks. Try on the top and check the length of the straps. Sew the straps by hand to the seam allowances or stitch them into the seam of the facing of the back neckline. Cut off the protruding strap allowances close to the stitches. Your top is ready.
Photo: BurdaStyle
Material prepared by Elena Karpova
Summer is the time when you want to wear something light and airy. Let this be a summer top. And you need a lot of them - bright and colorful, plain and in prints, with and without trim, short and elongated. The main thing is that the shoulders are open to the gentle sun and light breeze.
What top to sew for the summer?
The top is almost a T-shirt, but without sleeves. Everything seems simple. However, you can also use your imagination with it. Sew a strapless top, cut out narrow or wide straps. You can choose a model with cap sleeves with a “swing” in front or behind. Long tunic tops or short underbust tops look good if your figure allows. They can be casual or business. If you put a light jacket on top, then even a strict dress code will accept this style.
It is preferable to select a light, natural or mixed material.
- For evening version will fit , , guipure, .
- A selection of fabrics for everyday tops is presented in our online store, , , , etc.
Buy what you want.
How to sew a top with your own hands
Let's start with the simplest ones.
This beauty can be sewn on the basis of a square cut, rounding the armhole line on the front, back and edging line.
Make a drawstring at the top and bottom, tucking the edges, and thread the elastic through. Design the puff sleeves in the same way.
Peplum top
The product will be original and elegant if you sew a basque at the top. How to change it, having a ready-made base for any shoulder product, is shown in the photo.
The peplum is sewn along the top edge. A hidden zipper is sewn into the left side.
The place where the straps are sewn is indicated in the photo. Their length is selected individually.
Using this pattern you can sew a top for a girl and her mother. The result will be a family look.
Dressy strapless top
Let's move on to a more complex model.
The pattern of the top is the same as before - that is, the base.
- Draw the upper, semicircular line of the product.
- The lower one goes just under the chest.
Don't forget about the dart, which will fit the product exactly to your figure.
- From a piece of fabric, cut out a rectangle on which to lay folds. Its length is two or 2.5 times the length of the lower part - depending on the desired depth of the folds.
- Baste the folds and iron them.
- Stitch to the top.
Additional decoration includes lace sewn onto the bodice and under the pleated detail, and a belt tied under the bust (it will decorate the stitching line).
A simple model for every day
Sewing a top like this with straps is not at all difficult. The upper part is sewn from sequin fabric, the lower part is made from thin knitwear. There is a hidden zipper built into the side. The length is selected individually.
For a better fit, a short dart is made along the bottom of the bodice.
A special feature is the light drapery at the bottom of the shelf. A schematic representation is shown in the figure. To cut it out, you need to cut the bottom part of the pattern along vertical lines and spread it to the required width.
Short model without straps
Its other name is top bandeau. The peculiarity is that it fits tightly to the body above and below the chest, the middle part can be tight or loose. We described the second option a little higher. From the captions to the photographs it is clear how to sew the simplest bandeaus.
And if you need a pattern, please do so. Scale the drawing according to your measurements. Count how many cells are on the front part, measure the half-circumference of the chest and divide by the number of cells. This way you can find out their width.
In Word, enlarge the drawing using the ruler at the top of the page. All that remains is to print, cut out and sew.
There are many options. And with our fabrics your wardrobe will be replenished with bright and fashionable models.
Do you like simple but effective things? And now the main trump card - you can create a pattern in 10 minutes! Ready? Time has passed! We love them! Check out this boxy top from Ralph Lauren - it's stunning. From soft cotton fabric, scoop neckline with tie, floral pattern, fitted cuffs and hem - perfect not only for spring, but also for summer! This top will keep you cool even on the hottest day! And now the main trump card - you can create a pattern in 10 minutes! Ready? Time has passed!
Top pattern - details
Rice. 1: Top pattern - front
Rice. 2: Top pattern - back
Constructing a pattern
Rice. 3. Top pattern - construction
Rice. 4. Top pattern - cut details
To create a pattern, we need to take several measurements:
Hip circumference – 98 cm
Shoulder length – 12 cm
Sleeve length ¾ – 33 cm
Top length from waist – 20 cm
If you want to lengthen or shorten your top or sleeve, this can be done easily. If your chest circumference is larger than your hip circumference, use the chest circumference measurement when creating a top pattern.
Since this top has a loose fit, the pattern shown will fit sizes 46-48.
On tracing paper, draw a drawing of the top pattern as shown in Fig. 3. The width of the front/back depends on the circumference of the hips. The more you add to your measurements, the more folds there will be along the bottom of the top. The same goes for the bottom of the sleeve.
Front/back width of the top according to the pattern: ¼ hip circumference according to measurement + (9-11) cm: 98/4+9=33cm. (You can increase the increase by 2 cm for more volume at the bottom).
Sleeve length according to drawing = shoulder length + sleeve length according to measurement: 12+33=45cm.
Neckline - set aside 22.5 cm at right angles as shown in Figure 3. Using a pattern or by hand, draw a smooth curved line for the neckline, stepping back 2 cm to the right (along the neck - gather).
In the middle of the front, put 9 cm down from the neckline - put a mark on the cut.
How to cut a top
Any top is suitable cotton fabric: fine linen, cambric, viscose. can be calculated this way: Top length + sleeve length according to the pattern.
From the main fabric, cut out:
Top shelf – 1 piece with fold
Back of top – 1 piece with fold
Sleeve – 2 parts
Additionally, cut out 2 cuff pieces 6 cm wide (2 cm in finished form) and 24 cm long (22 cm in finished form).
2 oblique strips for threading into the drawstring along the neckline and along the bottom of the top, about 115 cm long and 3 cm wide.
IMPORTANT! You can also make a narrow cuff at the bottom of the top instead of a drawstring.
1 oblique strip for processing a shelf cut 20 cm long and 3 cm wide.
All seam allowances are 1.5 cm.
How to sew a top
Finish the cut details with an overlock stitch. Stitch the sleeves along the bottom seams. Sew the side seams of the top. Sew the sleeves into the armholes. Cut the shelf to the mark, process the cut of the shelf.
Gather along the bottom of the sleeves, stitch the cuff parts along the short sides, stitch to the sleeves, bend in half, tuck the seam allowances and stitch along the edge of the cuffs.
Fold the neckline under and stitch at a distance of 1 cm from the edge. Fold the allowance at the bottom of the top and stitch 1 cm from the edge. Sew bindings from oblique strips of fabric, insert one into the drawstring of the neckline, and the second into the drawstring at the bottom of the top. Tie knots at the ends of the trims, gather the neckline and bottom of the top to the desired length, and tie the trims into bows. Your top is ready - wear it with pleasure and be happy!
Good afternoon, my dear self-taught seamstresses. I continue to publish articles on the sewing cycle. As you remember, 2-3 months ago I talked about a simple and clear way to create your individual pattern-basis. The one and only one basic pattern, according to which all other dresses, T-shirts, blouses, jackets and even coats are created and sewn))).
And today I feel a surge of strength sufficient to again return to modeling based on our basic pattern. Of course, you are all waiting for me to tell you about the dress now. But I will disappoint you.
We will not start with dresses, we will start with tops and T-shirts and through them we will begin to sneak up on dresses
Because if you created your very first basic pattern for your very first time, then the first product you sew may not turn out as beautiful as you expected - and this will completely kill your faith in your abilities (which I by no means I want to admit). I know a bunch of people who drew a pattern, cut the fabric, sewed the cut pieces together, put them on themselves, looked in the mirror and were DISAPPOINTED.
This usually happens for the following reasons.
- First reason. Your pattern was made with an error, and you realized this after you cut and connected the details of the dress. In the wrong pattern may be to blame wrong taken measurement, inattentive following of instructions for drawing a pattern, or the author himself writing a training article. Even I, the great and terrible Klishevskaya, can make mistakes (I’m also a person, not a robot), sometimes I find errors in my articles and rewrite them from BEFORE publication on the site, and sometimes AFTER you, dear readers, notice it (yes, yes there was such a case).
- The second reason. You chose the wrong style of dress and it (even though it was made correctly) doesn’t suit you, simply because you don’t look like that sensual blonde whose photo in a beautiful pink dress inspired you to take on sewing feats. It’s like in a store - the dresses hanging in your size range do not always fit your body type (out of 20 dresses in your size, one or two will look good on you. That’s why I always advise: before sewing anything, find and try on yourself a model with a similar cut; find out whether this style suits you, or whether it’s better not to even start sewing it.
Based on these considerations, let's start carefully, be patient for a little while without a dress. Let's start by sewing a couple of cool tops. You'll see this will make you happy, because...
Firstly, the top requires very little material(if you make a mistake, you risk “ruining” a small piece of fabric). A top is an ideal way to test the suitability of your base pattern. On the top, you will have no fear in your hands and eyes, you will work on the armholes, the neckline - you will practice, get your hand in - and you will approach sewing a dress from the position of “an experienced and experienced fashion designer”))).
Secondly, the topic has one undeniable advantage - it is small. And that's why it sews very quickly. You will be pleased with such an instant and easy end result of your sewing experiments.
Thirdly, the top is easier to sew than a dress; in fact, the top itself is similar to the top part of a dress of the same style as itself. In theory, by mentally lengthening any top, we will see a dress. That is why we start working with the firebox.
Look for yourself - if we learn to do TOPIC on round yoke , then after this it will be easy and simple for us to sew DRESS with a round yoke.
After we practice sewing TOPA with flounces, we will fearlessly go purchase fabric for a similar “ruffled” DRESS.
And after sewing TOPA with U-shape neck, where the halves of the bodice overlap each other, we will calmly begin to cut similar cut dress– even our pattern of the bodice from the top will fit it, all that remains for us is to lengthen the lower “hem” part of the top.
In general, I hope you understand what I mean. We will start working with the tops, to train your hand and eye for sewing a more ambitious project called “DRESS».
We'll start with simple models, and we will gradually move forward as they become more complex.
Today we will sew top based on your pattern. I told you how to make your own basic pattern in a special master class - and I tried to “invent” just such a way to create a pattern that is understandable even to an “absolute dummie” and a hopeless lazy person (like me) - this fun and absolutely unboring way creating your basic pattern should be to your liking.
And since many of us already have the base pattern ready, let’s start using it for its intended purpose and start sewing tops. Answer to the question “Why not start with dresses?”– read in the previous article in the series “Sew tops - quickly and easily.”
So, our first top will be sewn in an absolutely classic style. That is, it will be a simple, straight-cut top without any bells and whistles.
Here are the tops with a straight silhouette:
But you won't get bored sewing such simple tops. Because…
This lesson has three IMPORTANT tasks:
Task one– remember that basic patterns come in several types, depending on what silhouette of the product we need (fitted, semi-fitted, straight)
Task two– CHECK IF OUR BASIC PATTERN REALLY SUITS US. Well, we need to make sure that we drew everything correctly and didn’t make a mistake anywhere, and that the thing made according to the pattern fits us well and doesn’t sag or pull anywhere.
Task three– sew a top with a straight silhouette. And using his example, practice transferring darts from the shoulder (from where it is drawn on the pattern) to the side seam area (to where it is always located on the clothing, i.e. just below the armpit.
Let's start work
The first thing we need is your basic pattern. You have it. But WHICH she?
Now I will remind you of one thing. Remember that at the very beginning, when we first started drawing our base pattern, we needed to decide WHAT DEGREE OF FITTING WE WANT TO MAKE THIS BASE - and depending on this, we drew one or another width of the base pattern. This is what it looked like.
And if we needed an adjacent silhouette, we added 0 cm, if it was semi-adjacent, 2-3 cm, if it was straight, 4-5 cm, and if it was a very spacious dress, 6-7 cm.
What to do,
if your BASIC PATTERN is drawn with an ADJACENT silhouette in mind.
And you want to sew a top with a STRAIGHT silhouette.
Let's say that when you were drawing your pattern, you decided at the very beginning that it would be a pattern for an adjacent silhouette (for sewing dresses that fit the figure). And now you need to sew a straight, non-fitting top over it. What should I do?
Answer 1– Spend 20 minutes and re-draw the same basic pattern, but with an allowance for a straight or semi-fitted silhouette.
Answer 2– Or work with this pattern, but use knitted or stretch fabric for sewing (so that it stretches). And then it will be possible to cheat and turn the adjacent base pattern into a more spacious and wider one in a simple “clumsy” way - like in the picture below.
WE MODEL FROM THE BASIC PATTERN - THE PATTERN OF OUR TOP
What we do is we take our pattern, and in order not to spoil the basic pattern itself, we will perform all manipulations with its twin copy. To do this, trace the pattern on a sheet of paper - and here on this copy We will carry out all the manipulations - we will turn the base pattern into a pattern for a top with a straight silhouette. Namely:
- move the dart from the shoulder to the side seam (dart in classic version always hiding under his armpit.
- Let's draw the silhouettes of the neckline (that is, we will indicate the desired depth of the neckline) and the silhouettes of the armholes we need.
- Let's give the drawing a straight (non-fitted) silhouette - we'll cut the top with a straight silhouette.
TRANSFER OF DOTTER.
Who has forgotten what a dart is and why it needs to be moved. Let me remind you that we need a dart so that when sewing a product, it will have a natural bulge-container that matches the size of our chest. Remember when I told and showed how a flat figure becomes convex thanks to an undercut? Here are these photos illustrating this process of creating a bulge in the chest thanks to the shoulder dart.
But since the dart on the shoulder is striking, all the fashion designers came to a unanimous decision: after constructing the pattern, transfer this dart to the side seam (under the armpit), where the dart will not be covered by the hand and therefore will not be noticeable as if it were remained on the shoulder.
And here are photos explaining how to transfer a dart from the shoulder to the side seam line
So we took a copy of our pattern and made the necessary manipulations on it (as in the photo above), that is, we moved the dart to the side seam. That old closed dart can be secured with tape so that it does not open.
WHAT CHANGED ON THE PATTERN AFTER THE DART MOVED.
Look at the picture below - there I depicted a pattern with the old dart and a pattern after transferring the dart - they are side by side, and they can be compared.
As you can see, our shoulder line is no longer broken, but straight, and its length coincides with the measurement of our shoulder (you can compare). The armhole line also changed in better side, it is now not so much curved, not so rounded - it has become straighter, more similar to what we see on our clothes. That is, the pattern after transferring the dart became more convenient for modeling - and this is very good. Because it is the modeling of simple tops with a semi-fitting silhouette that we will now deal with. Right in this same article.
DRAW THE CONTOURS OF THE NECK, ARMORY AND SIDE LINES OF THE TOPIC
And now on this pattern we must outline the contours of our topic. That is, we must decide what kind of neckline we want, how wide we want the straps on the shoulders, and how deep the armholes are.
YOU can draw anything you want within this pattern. The main thing is that our neckline covers our chest, that is, it is a couple of cm higher than the chest line. There are no restrictions on the width of the straps, nor on the size of the armhole; it can be as deep as you like (the main thing is that you like it yourself).
Now we just have to give our top pattern a straight silhouette on the sides - that is, we make sure that it is not fitted.
It’s very simple - where we have a side bend at the waist on the pattern - you need to even it out (so that it doesn’t exist) just draw a straight (or very slightly curved) line from the armpit to the hip. And that’s it – here’s a straight silhouette.
What you draw is what you get out of it. For example, I’ll draw this shape for the neckline and armhole and I’ll get a top like this.
Now the pattern is ready. Don't forget that there are no seam allowances on this pattern. We will draw them directly on the fabric when we trace the pattern with chalk or pencil (or if you want, you can immediately draw them on the pattern).
SEW TOP
Now you can sew the top itself:
1.) First, trace the pattern onto the fabric. Place the pattern on the fabric, trace it with a pencil or chalk. On the front part on both sides transferring the pattern of the lateral underarm dart(we trace right along the edge of the darts, naturally without seam allowances - it will simply be covered with machine stitching).
2.) Cut out these drawn parts from the fabric.
3.) On the front part, immediately sew up the dart on both sides. I hope this is clear how - we put the drawn edges of the dart next to each other, baste it with threads and then put it under the machine and sew it with a seam. For those who don’t understand, let them take any of their dresses or blouses out of the closet and iron how the dart is closed. So, we closed the dart with a machine stitch - we take the product out from under the machine - and the threads hanging from the edges of the seam can simply be tied with a knot (or if the fabric is transparent, it is better to thread them into a hand needle and disguise them with stitches in the seam and make a knot in the middle of the seam itself).
4.) Now we connect the back part with the front part - side and shoulder seams.
5.) We process the neckline, armhole cutouts and the bottom of the product.
I explained in detail how to process it in special articles - on working with knitwear, or on working with delicate silk and airy fabrics. Everything is explained there: what lines to sew, and how to overcast, and how to work with knitwear without an overlocker.
In this part we will make a similar top (also straight silhouette), but from transparent guipure or lace fabric. Like this:
Very beautiful tender model with a semi-adjacent silhouette - black guipure top. As you can see, he doesn't have any underarm bust darts. In our black top they are not needed since stretch guipure is used in sewing. But even if you bought guipure without elastic threads, you don’t have to make a dart in a straight-cut silhouette.
I'll tell you even more:
- Many straight cut products even from non-stretch (or low-stretch) fabric don't have those chest darts– why is it needed if the thing is already spacious enough, and there is enough chest space in it. You can make this dart - but it will not affect your straight-cut product in any way.
- Also Bust darts are often not needed for fitted or semi-fitted and straight tops and dresses made of stretch fabric - after all, why have a dart if the fabric itself stretches on the chest.
That is why, to model such dartless products, it will be much more convenient for us to use the SAME “Dartless” BASIC PATTERN.
You ask where to get it?
And I will answer you:
Tuckless the basic pattern is very easy to get if remove the chest dart from the usual basic pattern. We will now do this with you using a clear example.
How to make a basic pattern without a bust dart.
This is what our front pattern looks like with a bust dart (see picture below). But today we sew, firstly from stretch, and secondly, a semi-adjacent silhouette - for us chest dart, broken shoulder line, too curved armhole line - they just get in the way– distract us from modeling. Now we will remove all these broken lines very in a simple way. The whole process is in the pictures below:
Well, now that we have the basic basis of the pattern without this extra bust dart, it will be very easy for us to model any shape of shoulder straps and neckline and armhole for our tops.
It is this kind of dartless pattern that we will often use when modeling stretch products and more.
Let's start by sewing a black guipure top:
We sew a black transparent top (with lining).
We will need:
guipure fabric that stretches
and for the lining we also need an opaque stretch fabric in a light beige shade, as close as possible to the shade of your skin.
WE MAKE A PATTERN OF THE UPPER TOP FROM GUIPURE.
We look carefully at the top and analyze its lines.
Neck line. If on the base pattern the neck line always runs at the very base of the neck, then on this top we see that the lower edge of the neck is 4-5 cm below the base of the neck (yellow dot).
Armhole line. If on the base pattern the top point of the armhole coincides with the edge of the shoulder (shoulder joint), then on the top from our photo we see that the shoulder joint is open, which means the edge of the strap begins 3-4 cm further than the edges of the shoulder (green dot on the pattern). The width of the strap is arbitrary (4-5 cm in the photo).
The waistline has a slight, calm curve - not as curved and fitted as on the basic pattern (we are making a SEMI-fitting top). And then, this bend is not necessary if you have a small difference in centimeters between the waist volume and the chest or hips volume - that is, simply the tummy - you can simply draw a straight side line, without any fit. Focus on your figure.
And so we analyzed the photo - and all these observations were reflected in our pattern - those. We drew the lines exactly where they should be for this top model.
Back pattern done with the same width of the neckline and the same length of the shoulder seam (so that the edge of the front strap coincides with the edge of the back strap when sewing them together).
You see how easy it is to model from a photograph.
WE MAKE A PATTERN OF A BEIGE LINING FROM STRETCH.
Now we need a beige hem pattern. This lining will be without shoulder straps - that is, like a bustier - it will be held on by an elastic band. The purpose of this lining is to protect delicate areas of the body from excessive exposure under the transparent fabric of the top. This lining can be sewn into the top itself, or worn separately as an independent item.
The top line of the lining starts from the armpits (the lowest point of the armholes on the pattern) and rises slightly arched above the chest line - like in my picture. The bottom line can be at any level - either at the waist, or slightly higher.
We've drawn the lines, and now let's remember that this top lining should be clinging to the body - and for this, its pattern needs to be slightly narrowed in width - when we put it on, the stretch will stretch and expand itself, hugging our body. You can reduce the pattern by eye - or you can calculate the stretch coefficient of your stretch fabric and reduce the pattern scientifically.
What is the ductility coefficient of stretch fabric, I explained in detail, using examples, in a special article. And here I’ll just remind you.
What if 10 cm of relaxed fabric - when stretched, gives 14 cm (that is, stretched fabric gives an additional 4 cm) - then the stretch coefficient of your fabric is 40% - which means our stretch product (i.e. top) will stretch in width by 40% and that means we need to make the pattern smaller in width by this 40% (or not reduce the pattern by all 40%, but only by 30-20%, well... so that the fabric does not compress the body too much).
For example, we bought stretch fabric that stretches 30%, but we want it not to dig into us too much, and therefore we reduce the pattern by 20% (that is, by 1/5 of its size). We measure the width of the pattern - divide it by 5 - and the width of the pattern should decrease by the resulting figure.
To be honest, I don’t strictly calculate – I do it by eye. I’ll look at the stretch: if it stretches easily, I’ll cut off more from the pattern; if it doesn’t stretch much, I’ll cut off less. And everything always works out as it should.
Here's what your lining pattern will ultimately look like:
CUT DETAILS ON THE FABRIC
Now we cut out our pattern and place it on the fabric. And here... please pay attention to the fact that many guipure and lace fabrics for sale with a ready-made natural beautiful wavy edge made at the factory. And it would be a shame not to take advantage of this - firstly, such an edge looks beautiful (see the photo of the top below, it has just such an edge), and secondly, you will have less work, because There is no need to hem and process the bottom of the product on a machine.
So that means we put the pattern on the fabric and... we understand that you can’t draw on guipure with chalk, right? Therefore, we proceed as follows.
Or take a bunch of pins and carefully pin the pattern onto the guipure. Or we fix the pattern on the fabric with heavy objects (for example, thick books) and arrange them here and there along the pattern so that it is pressed to the fabric and does not move. And we move one book closer to the edge that we begin to cut - the book presses the edge of the paper pattern to the fabric and we can easily cut the fabric with scissors along this pressed edge of the pattern - BUT DON’T FORGET IN THE RIGHT PLACES (in the area of the shoulder and side seams) TO MAKE AN EXTRA FOR THE SEAMS 0.5 -1 cm.
I also cut out the part for the stretch lining, pressing the pattern down with thick books - AND THERE IS NO NEED TO BE ADDED ON THE SEAMS - this is not very important for the stretch - it will stretch.
SEW TOP
So we have 4 parts- front + back for the top guipure top, and front + back for the bottom beige lining.
Sew the front and back of the top at the shoulder and side seams.
We sew the back and front of the beige lining at the side seams and process its lower edge. And we sew an elastic band into the top edge (I talked about a whole bunch of ways to sew in an elastic band in the article How to sew an elastic band into clothes)
Now we process the neck and armholes of the top guipure top. First, we lay one or two fixing lines along the neckline and armholes, retreating 1-1.5 cm. Now we manually sew a black ribbon or narrow ribbon along this line. We baste it by hand, place it under the machine foot and attach it. This treatment of the neckline and armholes looks very beautiful.
Top and bottom tops can be worn separately to each other. Or, if desired, you can sew the bottom lining top to the guipure top - the place of stitching is the upper part of the side seams - from the armpit and 5-7 cm below, stitch both tops through or sew on by hand with blind stitches.
We continue to model tops - we have already sewed a classic top with a straight silhouette, and also sewed a top from openwork guipure fabric with a stretch lining. Now we will continue to sew from stretch and make simple but cute tops with knotted ties. These are the tops:
They are sewn from stretch fabric, so our ties stretch easily and are tied into soft, strong knots.
So let's get started... let's start with blue top.
WE MODEL THE PATTERN OF A TOP WITH TIES AT THE BOTTOM
This top (like all other tops in the world) is created on the basis of your BASIC WITHOUT DART PATTERN - and we will get the top pattern by slightly “finishing” the base of this basic pattern. This is what it will look like:
We take the pattern and make a copy of it. And on this copy we carry out the following manipulations - we change the neck line and the armhole line.
To draw all the lines correctly, we must analyze the photo of the top.
Judging by the photo, the line of our neckline in a blue top it goes somewhere 2-3 cm below the base of the neck - which means that on the base pattern we lower our neck line to the same distance (yellow dot). And on the sides, the neckline does not reach the base of the neck by 1 cm. Therefore, on the base pattern, along the shoulder line, we retreat 1 cm to the side from the edge of the neckline (pink dots). If your face shape is more suitable for a neckline of a different shape, you can draw a neckline of a different depth and width.
Now armholes– judging by the photo, the armhole line of the blue top is almost classic – that is, a little higher along the shoulder line than on the base pattern. If you wish, you can also slightly lower the lower edge of the armhole (axillary point) - well, so that it is away from the armpit. But not so low that your bra shows - it’s not aesthetically pleasing after all.
Now let's smooth it out Tightness of the lateral lines (so that the top does not fit around the waist, but is slightly loose). Even if you look more closely at the photo, it becomes clear that the front detail on the top is specially expanded downwards, so that when the knot is tied, you get a sort of assembly of folds going from all sides to the place of the knot. This means that in our pattern, we expand the side lines to the sides.
Now we determine where we will have nodule(in the center or slightly to the side) - we mark this place with a dot - and begin to draw our tabs downwards (the same long tabs that we will tie in a knot). How to decide how long the straps should be? I will tell you that approximately 4 cm of the length of the strap is spent on a double knot. That there is 4 cm that will go into the knot, plus a few centimeters for the hanging “ears” - the ends of the straps.
The back of the top is modeled with the same width of the neckline and the width of the shoulder line - as the back part - so that they then match the front and back with each other when sewing.
Here - now we can say that our pattern is ready.
We sew a top with a knot tied at the bottom.
1) Cut out our pattern, place it on the fabric and trace it with chalk (remembering to LEAVE MARKS ON THE SHOULDER AND SIDE SEAMS). I told you how to cut stretch or slip fabric from fabric in this series of articles.
2) Sew the back piece to the front piece at the side and shoulder seams.
3) We process the bottom of the product: either we overlock it, or we bend it and stitch the edge - the processing goes along the entire bottom edge and along the edges of both straps.
4) We process the neckline and armholes ( I told you how to do it on stretch here)
TOP WITH TIES AT THE CHEST.
We also model this topic based on our BASIC PATTERN.
We take a copy of our base pattern, namely that BASIC PATTERN where the bust dart was removed. You remember that the basic pattern in its initial stage is drawn in three versions (for a tight-fitting silhouette, for a semi-fitting silhouette, for a loose silhouette). If we sew from stretch fabric, we need a pattern of an adjacent silhouette. Plus, you need to remove the chest dart from it (that is, turn the usual basic pattern of a close-fitting silhouette into a BASIC PATTERN FOR STRETCH FABRICS.
So let's take this one pattern-base for stretch , and we will now turn it into a pattern for our top with ties.
WE MODEL THE PATTERN OF A TOP WITH TIES.
For proper modeling, you need to carefully look at the photo of this topic:
we see that The neckline of the top starts at the side base of the neck- that is, it has the same width as the neckline on the base pattern, which means the edge of the base pattern neckline coincides with the same edge as our top (yellow dot). We see in the photo that the neckline area is very narrow - which means that on the pattern base you need to draw a sharply narrowing neckline.
Now you need to decide where you want the bottom edge of the top to go (judging by the photo - the bottom edge of the top runs 7-10 cm higher than the waist line). We measure the required distance on our pattern from the waist line up - mark it with a dot and draw a horizontal line.
Now we need to draw the strap itself, which will be tied. The length of the strap should be enough for the knot itself and for the protruding tails.
To find out how many centimeters to draw a strap, you can conduct a small experiment - take a strip of the same or another (similar in thickness) fabric, tie it into a knot, stepping back from the edge of the knot to the distance we need, make marks with chalk. Then untie the knot and measure the distance between the marks. This will be the length of the knot with two straps. Since we draw one strap on the pattern, we divide this value by two.
Or you can not check, but take Olga Klishevskaya’s word for it. I'll tell you what for regular fabric stretch - a double knot steals about 4 cm of its length from the strap. This means that the strap should be made with the calculation of 4 cm per knot, plus a few centimeters for the hanging ends.
Having thus calculated the length of the strap, you can begin to draw it. We draw it like in the picture - The strap-tie looks like a long triangular extension to the side of our shelf.
Now the front pattern is ready.
The back pattern is drawn even simpler - the lines of the armholes and shoulders coincide with those drawn on the base pattern. The neck line is the same depth as on the base pattern. And the line of the bottom edge of the top from the back (as well as the front part) runs 7-10 cm higher than the waist line.
We make a classic sleeve pattern according to my lesson “We make sleeves for clothes ourselves. Part 1". And since we need a clingy sleeve, we shrink it a little in width.
SEWING A TOP WITH TIES ON THE CHEST
1.) When all three patterns are ready (front, back and sleeves), place them on the fabric, trace them (for stretch, you don’t need to leave seam allowances), and cut them out. We get one back, two shelves and two sleeves.
2.) Now we sew the front and two back panels in the SHOULDER SEAMS (we don’t do the side seams yet, this will make it easier for us to sew in the sleeve).
3.) Sew the sleeve to the armhole (more on this in the same article about the sleeve).
4.) Sew the side seams of the top and the side seam of the sleeve (the vertical seam that runs along the arm)
5.) We process the bottom of the topic and the edges of the shelves, smoothly turning into the neckline (we bend the edge and attach or overlock it), We also process the lower edges of the sleeve.
That's it, our top with ties on the chest is sewn. I congratulate you on this.
They can be sewn from plain fabric or fabric with a pattern. In these photos, the models are made of slightly stretchy, dense stretch fabric. But you can make these same models from any other fabric (even non-stretch). So, let's start with the blue top, which has a drawstring.
BLUE TOP WITH RUGGED SHOULDER
We will make the top pattern based on our basic pattern. Therefore, in order not to spoil our basic pattern, we make a copy of it and it is this (copy) that we will modify, that is, change.
Let's take a closer look at the photo. What lines of armholes and necklines do we see?
We see that the neckline has a wedge-shaped (i.e., pointed downwards) shape. And the depth of the neckline does not reach the bust line by 3-4 cm (the same line along which we take the bust measurement, and which is drawn and labeled as the “bust line” on our pattern).
We see that the armholes have a classic height (i.e. the height of the armholes coincides with the height of the armholes on the pattern). This is very clearly visible in the photo - that the armhole ends at the level of the chest line - it is at the level of this chest line that the classic armhole on the base pattern ends) - this means we don’t need to change the height of the armhole. But we will change its configuration a little... because we need to change the shoulder line...
Now let's take a closer look at the shoulder. We see that when assembled (i.e., in the form of gathers), the shoulder width on our product coincides with the shoulder width measure (the same measure that is measured from the base of the neck to the shoulder bone, i.e., the one that is drawn on our pattern). But this is in assembled form. When unfolded, the shoulder width of the product should clearly be greater - judging by the density and depth of the folds, this width is 1.5 more. It means that on the pattern we should draw the shoulder line half its length more.
This is what we do - we reflect all our observations on the base pattern - we draw a wedge-shaped neck line not reaching 3-4 cm from the chest line. We do not change the height of the armhole. But we lengthen the shoulder line by half.
The silhouette of our top is semi-fitted on the sides. This means that we can leave the bend of the side lines the same as on the base pattern. But we leave the waist darts (those that go in the center) without attention - they will not close as in a strictly fitted silhouette, but will give additional centimeters for a loose fit.
Back pattern It looks the same as the front pattern, with the only difference being that the neckline is not as deep.
WE SEW A BLUE TOP WITH A GATHERING ON THE SHOULDERS.
1.) Sew the front piece and the back piece together at the shoulder seams, or sew the drawstrings first (see step 2), and then sew the shoulder seams - it doesn’t matter where you start.
2.) And immediately we make two drawstrings in the shoulders. To do this, cut out two strips from the remaining scraps of fabric. Their length should be 2 cm shorter than the length of the shoulder line on our product. Their width should be sufficient for the twine to be hidden under them, which we will stretch into our drawstring. Twine can be made from the same scraps of fabric ( I already told you how to make twine here). We sew the cut strips of the drawstring on one side and the other from the shoulder seam, we sew them along the very edge of the strips. Thus, under the stripes in the center we have a “tunnel-corridor” - we will pull twine or ribbon into it.
3.) Now that the drawstrings are sewn on. You can carefully trim the edges of the armholes. Fold and stitch the edge. But bend half a centimeter - so as not to close (!!!) the entrance holes of our drawstrings. In the same way, we carefully process the neckline with bias tape: we sew a seam, and in the area of the shoulders we do not close the entrance holes of our drawstrings with a seam. We cut out the bias binding for the neckline from the same fabric.
4.) Now it remains to connect the side seams, process the bottom of the product and into our “corridor drawstrings” pull the string in so that both ends hang outside the shoulder– we hold these tails and pull up the shoulder, forming a gather of the length we need – and we tie the tails of the twine to fix our gather.
That's all, our blue top with ruching on the shoulders is ready. Now let's start sewing a salmon top with gathering and a decorative patch on the shoulder.
TOP WITH RUBBLE AND SHOULDER PATCH.
The pattern for this top is easier to make than the first one. Let's take a look at him
– look, the shape and size of the neckline are exactly the same as the previous blue-eyed top. Length too. The width and degree of fit are the same. This means that on the pattern we draw exactly the same neckline and side curves and make the bottom edge at the same level. And all we need to do is model the shoulders. This is done like this: first we simply draw the silhouette of the shoulder straps. Regular width.
Then we determine at what level we will have this very line of tucks at the seam. Judging by the photograph, this line begins 5-7 cm below the shoulder line.
We measure this level on the straps of our pattern and cut the front pattern in this place. We do not change the upper part (the cut off top of the shoulder strap). But we expand the lower part of this same shoulder strap by 4-5 centimeters.
That's all, the front pattern is ready
The back pattern has the same width (not shape, but width) of the neckline and the same length of shoulder seams.
We cut out the details on the fabric. The tops of the shoulder - left and right. Front detail with extended straps. And the back part (it hasn’t changed in any way),
Now let's sew. First, take the front part and sew large stitches (by hand or on a machine) on the upper extended edges of the straps. We stitched and pulled the edges of the thread in the stitch - the stitch shrank and the fabric gathered into a gather. Let's assemble the assembly until then. Until it becomes the same length as the top of the shoulder - the edges should match in length when sewing.
Now we sew the tops of the hangers with the front straps - and now we have it in our hands one-piece stitched front part with tucks on the shoulders.
All that's left is to join the front and back pieces together - at the side and shoulder seams - and finish the neckline and armholes with bias tape.
It's time to talk about tight-fitting stretch tops. These tops are very easy to sew if you follow simple rules... but I’ll talk about this a little lower.
Let's look at these topics first. Here they are:
They all have one thing in common. They are sewn from stretch fabric basic pattern with a tight-fitting silhouette and with the chest dart removed from it. That is, to model all tight-fitting stretch tops we need Dartless Basic Running Silhouette Pattern. In the third article of this series about topics, we just learned how to make one from a Regular Pattern-base Dartless Pattern-base
Yes, yes, to create tight stretch tops we don’t need a base pattern with a bust dart. The fabric stretch stretches well and will lie on the chest as needed.
Here I showed how we remove the dart from the base pattern:
It's very cool... sewing from stretch. No tricks for you. No adjustment to the silhouette. The product will sit on you by itself, exactly following all the curves of your body.
Sewing from stretch or knitwear is pure pleasure. Especially if you have already read my articles in the series “ How to sew from knitwear“- there I told you what needles, threads, what machine stitches are best for sewing, how to process the edges of a product without an overlocker, how to take into account the degree of stretchability of the fabric when calculating the pattern.
Today we will need all this knowledge (and we will repeat it here and consolidate it in practice).
So let's get started.
We create a stretch top pattern based on our basic pattern.
This is the correct sequence of our actions.
Step 1. Take the TAP-FREE pattern-basis of the adjacent silhouette and make a copy of it.
Step 2. Find out the degree of ductility of our stretch knitwear. (we find the tensile coefficient of the fabric).
Step 3. Modify the pattern taking into account this stretch factor.
Step 4. On this stretch pattern adapted to our stretch, draw the lines of the neckline and armholes.
Now let’s go through this point in detail:
We take a copy from the dartless base pattern. Now we need to shrink it in width, according to how stretchy we bought the stretch.
To do this, take a centimeter ruler, our fabric and find out the degree of its stretchability. This is how we do it.
On the fabric in its calm (unstretched) state, measure a segment 10 cm long (we mark the boundaries of this segment with small pieces). It is important (!!!) that we measure the piece not at the edge of the fabric, but 10-15 cm below.
We stretch this marked segment with our hands, and in this stretched state we apply it to the ruler. By how many centimeters our stretched 10-centimeter segment has increased - this is the percentage of stretchability of our stretch fabric.
If 10 cm is stretched to 13 cm, then these additional 3 cm mean a stretch coefficient of 30%. If 10 cm stretches to 16 cm, then these additional 6 cm mean a stretch coefficient of 60%.
Different stretches have different degrees of ductility. The stronger the fabric stretches, the narrower our pattern should be (after all, when we put the top on the body, it will stretch and expand on its own).
And now, taking into account this degree of ductility of our fabric, we must modify our pattern. Therefore, we can safely narrow our pattern according to the percentage of stretch.
For example, the percentage of stretch elongation is 30%. This means our pattern should shrink in the chest and waist by 30%. How wide should it eventually become? Let’s say the width of the shelf pattern is 18 cm. This means 18 cm: 100 x 70 = 12.8 cm = rounded to 13 cm. That is, the width of our shelf from 18 should shrink to 13. This means that 5 cm must be removed from the sides of the shelf pattern - that is move the side line to the center by 2.5 cm and move the center line of the shelf another 2.5 cm.
If someone has a question - “Where did the figure 70 come from, if we were talking about 30%?” Let me explain:
we multiplied by 70 - because when we subtract something by 30%, this reduced remainder will be 70% of the initial whole. It's like if your child ate 30% of the cake and your guests only had 70% of the cake left. We need the neck to decrease by 30%, which means we need to know what the width of the neck will be if it decreases to 70%, so we divide by 100 and multiply at 70- this is how we find out the width of our “half-eaten” neck.
Here in the picture we see what this pattern compression looks like on both sides:
and now we look carefully at the picture and notice that the pattern has not only shrunk on both sides, but has also lengthened. We also see that in the picture I almost did not squeeze the pattern in the hip area. Why? Read on...
Important point No. 1: (you can reduce it by eye)
It is not necessary to reduce the pattern STRICTLY BY THIS PERCENTAGE - you can reduce it not by 30%, but by 20%, or even by 10% - because the more you reduce the pattern, the tighter the product will hug your body. Why do we need the topic to choke us? Of course, if you are sewing shapewear for figure correction, then you need to reduce the maximum percentage of the maximum stretch of the fabric. But if you are sewing a regular top, then a gentle stretch around your body is enough for us. I generally reduce the pattern by eye.
Important point No. 2 (leave freedom below the waist)
The pattern does not need to be reduced particularly in the hip area. I’ll explain why - if your top ends below the waist - that is, on the hips - then in this hip area it should not be stretched. Otherwise, with any of your movements (walking or just fidgeting in a chair), the top will inexorably creep up (according to the laws of physics) - I have one such top creeping up and the same stretch dress - after the fifth step it rises to an unacceptable height and it has to be worn every tighten once. This happened because the factory did not make an extension in the hip area, and the stretch fabric for sewing was chosen to be very elastic - so the result was a dress not for wearing, but for photographing (you can only stand calmly in it and smile).
Important point #3 (remember the decreasing length)
The law of stretching of any matter says - If you stretch something in width, it will decrease in length.
For example, take a regular elastic band - its width is 1 cm when relaxed - but if you stretch it, its width will become 5 mm. It’s the same with a top - in a calm, unstretched form, its length can reach your mid-thigh, but if you put it on, you will find that it has become much shorter.
When we draw a pattern, we need to make it a little longer than we need– when we sew and put on a top, it will stretch in width and accordingly shorten in length.
All these moments We definitely need to take this into account when drawing our stretch top. And then you won’t be disappointed after the first try on. And you can sew yourself different, different tops from different fabrics.
But every time when sewing, look at the stretch and estimate with a ruler (or by eye) the degree of its ductility and compress the pattern accordingly this degree of ductility.
Remember THE SAME PATTERN of a stretch top when sewn from different stretch fabrics will give different tops(one can hang loosely on you, and the other can dig into your fat) - and all because for one you choose a fabric with high ductility, and for the other a low-stretch fabric. Sew, train, fill your hand.
So, when we have a base pattern specially compressed for our stretch, we can easily model tops with any neck shape, width of shoulder straps and depth of armholes.
Galina THANK YOU! As much as I sew, I want to create a basic pattern, now, thanks to your site, I definitely will! Thank you!
Hello, site readers!
Today I want to talk to you about velvet, because it is what has been exciting the minds and wardrobes of fashionistas over the past few seasons.
So, what is velvet? As Wikipedia tells us, Velvet (probably from German Barchent; English Velvet, French Velours) is a fabric with cut pile, which is obtained through a special interweaving of threads: four in pairs form the upper and lower base, and the fifth is the pile. Velvet with a high pile is called plush.
Natural velvet (for example, on silk) is a rather expensive fabric, so as an alternative to it, velvet fabric on a cotton or even polyester basis was invented.
In any case, a velvet item in a modern context looks stylish, fashionable and relevant.
Today we will try to sew a velvet top with thin straps. Such a thing can be combined with almost everything - with business jackets, denim jackets oversized and even over T-shirts.
And if you take more fabric, you can sew a whole dress using the same principle.
So, we will need:
- 0.5 m of fabric (for a dress – 1 m)
- 1.5 m lace, 1 m velvet braid
- thread, scissors, chalk, pins
Preparing the fabric. If there is a risk of spoiling the cut, then regular decating should be abandoned. It is best to try to “steam” the fabric (a small piece to start with) without touching the surface with the iron. If there are “creases” on the fabric, you can try to smooth them out with steam by first placing the fabric on a damp terry towel.
We cut out the details: shelf, back, then facings. Usually velvet is cut with the pile facing up. The pattern can be taken from a magazine (specifically, mine is No. 108 from Burda 5/2016)...
...or, slightly violating all the “correct” technologies, simply apply the existing top to the fabric and cut it out. In this case, it is important to take into account the fit of the existing item and check your chest circumference with the same measurement on the top; if necessary, add the necessary centimeters + seam allowances.
I used ready-made velvet ribbon as straps. At first I tried to cut out the straps like bias tape from fabric, but in 4 folds they turned out to be quite rough. You can use silk or satin, but cutting and sewing such material is still “pleasure,” so we follow the path of least resistance.
Well, then there’s very little left - we sew our parts along the side seams. For everything to turn out beautifully, be sure to sweep away the details. It is better to choose threads and needles as thin as possible so as not to damage the pile.
If the seams are pressed, we pre-process the parts using an overlocker; if not, we overcast the seams after stitching.
We iron the seams. In order not to leave marks from the iron and not to wrinkle the pile, velvet should be ironed either through a special material (as a rule, it is quite expensive and cannot be found in any sewing store) or through a piece of the same velvet - then the pile will not wrinkle. It is better to iron on terry towel, without pressing the iron too hard and choosing a setting according to the type of base of your fabric.
The next step is sewing on the straps. We fasten them with pins, try them on, and leave them at the desired length. On top of the sewn straps, right side to right side, we place facings sewn together on the main parts and stitch along the entire perimeter.
We stitch, iron, and secure the side seams with several stitches so that the facing does not turn outward. If your fabric is elastic enough, then you can cheat and do without facing at all, and (as Burda recommends for sewing this top) just overcast the seam allowances and stitch by 0.5 cm. But there is also back side medals - if the fabric is very elastic, then there is a possibility of stretching it greatly, so in this case it makes sense to duplicate the upper sections.
The final touch is lace. Add to taste.
This is such a simple but effective thing we came up with. We wear it with pleasure.
