I bought some left-over fabric from a fabric shop.. (surprisingly) and wanted to make a long sleeved t shirt, but i measured incorrectly and I have to make it cropped. I think it works...
- 1. Get a piece of fabric- preferably a bit stretchy- for the reason demonstrated in pictures 5, 8 and 18.
2. Get a measuring tape and measure the widest part of your upper body- be it chest or tummy or whatever.. Then half this number to find the width for one side (back/front). Let's say it comes to 14cm. Add three inches on to make up for the seam and for it going half way round your waist- this comes to 17cm per side. So the width of the fabric will be 34cm. Have an idea of how long you want the top to be (lets say 15cm on one side) double it (30cm) and add 2 inches (32cm- for the hems at the bottom). So your rectangle should be 32x32 cm.- 3. Once you've cut your square or rectangle fold it in half so that the fold is where your head would be. Then cut out in the middle of the fold, a semi circle (so that its a circle when it is opened out). not too big, so that you can make it bigger and add a seam.
4. Put it over your head (INSIDE OUT) so that it looks like you're wearing an apron. Then, use pins to secure the ends of the fabric on the sides. Make sure the pins are straight, so that you have a clear direction while sewing. - 5. Then pull it over your head. Avoid making this face if others are around you. Remember to pull from the back. and be careful- the pins could fall out! You could use safety pins though instead I guess.
- 6. This is a technique I use when sewing by hand.. It looks neater and is quicker too. So yeah, use this technique if you wanna finish it quickly, and sew the two sides, following the pins that you placed ever so neatly. Obviously don't sew right to the top.. it would be impossible to put pins there- because of your arms. Leave about an inch under each of your arms, to stop sewing- it can't be too tight.
- 7. Turn it inside out and put it on. It should look like this. Make sure it fits beautifully!
- 8. Then take it off, turn it inside out so that it is..well. inside out. and put it on again. you can now see the seams you just sewed. Again, the face is not essential. It is only essential if the fabric you're using is not stretchy and/or you've sewn it too tight.
9. ARMS! The difficult bit- and even harder to explain. Measure the width of the fattest part of your arm- usually upper arm. Let's say 9 inches. Well it cant all be 9 inches- that's much too tight! and you need a seam. Add 4 or 5 inches on to that. measure your arm from shoulder to where-ever you want the sleeve to come to. Mine was about 21 inches. Add 2 inches to that and BAM! You've got a rectangle. 14x23 inches. Cut it out.- 10. Get the top of your rectangle (in this case the 14 inch end) and pin it to the ends of the mini sleeves, but facing outwards- as shown in this picture- so that when turned inside out, it looks like the sides of your top- neat. Take care when pinning- and remember that the ends of the fabric should meet on the underside of your arm. Make sure that when you pin it, you pin the underside to the tops of the sides of your top. If that makes any sense. It should do when you're actually making it. When you get to parts where there's a triangular corner, just sew it all repeatedly- going back on yourself and resewing as much as you want- this parts are prone to rips you see. This is the trickiest bit- and it might look rubbish inside out- but when you turn it over it should look neater than you'd expect it to. Just remember not to make it too tight.
11. It should look like this when you turn it the right way.- 12. Now the rest of the arm- shouldnt be too diff. Just turn it inside out again and pin where you wanna sew. It should get smaller as you go down the arm.remember you bend your elbows... nuff said.
- 13. Cut off the remaining fabric from you arm- to avoid the hercules effect.
- 14. Do the cuff now- just roll over the hem and sew. Make the hem about an inch long- it looks messy if it's too short. It folds over and looks tattered.
- 15, 16. Should look like this when you turn it the right way out!
- 17. Turn inside out. Now cut off another rectangle the same size ofc (in this case, 14x23) and do it all over again!
- 18. I hope the winds don't change.
I look horrideously young here. BUT this is the top (cropped- because I measured it out wrong.. kind of ironic)
I've tied a ribbon around it to make it tighter. give me more shape etc etc.Outfits for this top:
Black skirt.
High waisted shorts so that it can tuck in.
White flowery blazor and a pair of low rise jeans. Pumps.
Or for colder days I could wear a blue/black top underneath and lose the ribbon. Perhaps.. a gilet.
White puffa jacket. For some reason i think it would look good. Why? Who knows?! Fashion is fun- try anything!
I hope this has been clear enough! I'm still new at this, and I'm not that good at being concise. If this helped you, or you find/found it interesting, or you know someone who would, please inform them about this blog!
If something isn't clear then please comment below- I will get back to you asap. Or if you have any tips/opinions or anything! Just comment.
