Finding a tank top pattern
I wanted to make some tank tops. I have a few patterns I could try. The first up was the Summer Basics Tank & Dress from Love Notions.
The material I selected for this attempt was a random panel I had received in a surprise adult panel bundle from Whimsy Baby Customs. The panel was a little dated, but I thought would work perfect for a tank top I was mostly likely going to use a pjs.
One of the reasons I bought the surprise pack was to work on my panel placement. The first few times i used a panel it was centered too low for my liking. I really nailed it on this sample.
I used some random knit for the back of the tank. No hemming the bottom - again this is just practice and will be a summer pj top. Frankly I found the directions a little lacking for attaching the bindings and then the video links they included did not clearly use a right and wrong side fabric. A pet peeve of mine is when video tutorials do not make enough distinction between which side of fabrics they are using. If you have any questions I would do a youtube search for someone who has made this top and done a sew along.
The bindings are not fantastic on this piece but again I am just sleeping in it - not walking a fashion show runway.
I received another panel in the same package and I tried again with a different pattern. Same knit fabric for the back. The pattern is The Starting Point for Tank by Winter Wear Designs.
This one turned out too big I believe. I did take in the side seams but it still is a tad too big. It is too big around the neck. For my next one I will be sizing down.
The bands were much better on this one. Part of it is that the pattern actually call for bands instead of binding. When I discussed tank top patterns with my sewing friend she recommended using bands instead of following whatever the pattern had listed.
I will be trying to tweak these two patterns to make them work since I do not have a good tank top pattern. These are both usable samples ( I just wear them for sleeping).
For the panels the Pug Life is an adult sized panel and it feels too big for me. The spacing looks better on my petite frame with a child panel. Bonus, because the children's panels are way cuter than the adult ones:)