{Sewing Tip Tuesday} #15

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I know I didn't have some genius tip to share last week. And I don't have one to share this week either. BUT, I do have a little tutorial and it involves sewing so that counts, right? I think so!

I made this comfy tank about a month ago and have been wanting to share it with you, but I every time I've worn this shirt I forgot to take pics. Call me lazy or whatever, but I finally got around to pics of it on.

I started with this $3.00 shirt I picked up from Walmart on clearance. I loved the stripes and I love gray.

So first thing I did was cut the collar out of it. I knew I was going to cut the sleeves off and I didn't feel like that banded collar would work without the sleeves. After I cut off the collar I folded the edge down and top stitched it with a double line.

Next I used a racer tank that I already had to draw out where I wanted to cut the sleeves off at. Cut them out and hem the arm holes with the same double stitching.

Now you have made a basic racer back tank from a long sleeved shirt. You could stop here, but I decided to add some ruffles on the back. Make it a little spicy!

I didn't really measure this part. I just cut some strips of fabric from the sleeves and gathered them. Then pinned them on the back of my tank, matching up the stripes as best I could.

The top stripe I sewed upside down first, then flipped it down and top stitched it. I did this so the unfinished edge wouldn't show up by my neck. The other 2 ruffles are partially hidden from the ruffle above it so it didn't really matter. But you can do what you feel looks best.

That's it! Put it on and strut your stuff!

I'm not entirely sold on the ruffles on the back, but I haven't heard anyone say anything negative yet, so I'm going with it for now. The only I thing I would change is that I wish I had known about this tip about sewing with knits before I had made this shirt. I feel like my seams are a little wavy and had I known how to fix that I would be happier. But, next time I will know. Overall, I'm still excited about it :)

Guess what else I'm excited about??? I received a national award for my photography at work!!!! This is the second time I have won one of these awards. Although I'm in a category with higher standards this time because of my experience with the company. Anyway, it's still nice to be recognized for your work once in a while. Yay!