How to sew a stylish top with your own hands, the best styles for summer

A top is a miniature sleeveless vest, often with thin straps. This season, these items have become a real trend. Thanks to their laconic appearance, such a vest looks good not only in everyday wear, but also with a business suit. A hand-made item will fit perfectly on the figure of its owner, and complement her look. Before sewing a top yourself, you need to choose the right pattern. A pre-studied algorithm of actions will help to avoid mistakes in the process.

Materials and tools

Miniature sleeveless T-shirts are often worn in the warm season, so the material for sewing should be light. A summer top made of knitwear will allow the skin to breathe and will absorb moisture well. Models and patterns of such products are distinguished by their simplicity and conciseness. A top for evening outings can be made of silk, viscose. A beach version is sewn from cotton, linen.

Almost any fabric requires decatizing – treatment with steam or water – before cutting. This is necessary to prevent shrinkage of the finished product after the first wash. The technique of decatizing depends on the density of the material. As a rule, the fabric must be wetted with warm water and left for several hours, and ironed after drying. Exceptions include linen, silk and cotton fabrics - they only need to be ironed, without soaking.

Accessories

To sew a top with your own hands, you will need basic tools that are used in sewing. For work, you should prepare:

• sewing machine;
• iron;
• scissors (separately for fabric and paper);
• measuring tape;
• pins;
• tailor's chalk;
• accessories for decoration (optional);
• threads of two colors.

Beginners should know that any product is sewn with several threads. At the cutting and basting stage, contrasting ones are taken (for example, black stitches are applied to white fabric). Machine stitching is done with threads in the color of the material. This is necessary in order to simplify the process of removing basting stitches.

The pattern for a beginner top contains three parts: the front (1 piece with a fold) and the back (2 pieces). For the collar edging, a figure 3-4 cm wide (diamond, rectangle or oval) is drawn, depending on the chosen type of neck. The length of the element must necessarily correspond to the size of the armhole for the head.

The allowance is 1 cm for all seams in the product, except for the bottom part, where it is necessary to leave 3-4 cm.

Necessary measurements

The key to sewing a quality product is taking measurements correctly, regardless of whether simple or complex patterns are involved in the work. Basic rules:

• measurements are taken using underwear;
• for a right-handed person, the right side is measured, and for a left-handed person, the left side is measured, since these parts of the body are more developed;
• a pattern is always half of a product, so we must not forget that some measurements must be divided in half (hip, neck, chest, waist, back).

List of required measurements:

1. Neck circumference. Measured at the bottom of the neck, with the tape measure placed on the side of the face.
2. Chest circumference. The tape is placed along the line of the shoulder blades and along the most protruding parts of the chest. The model should stand without holding her breath. The tape fits close to the body, but does not press.
3. Front length. Measured from shoulder to waist along protruding parts.
4. Chest height. Length from shoulder to the fullest part of the chest.
5. Back length. Measured from the bone at the base of the neck to the waist.
6. Length of the product. Measured from the bone at the base of the neck to the end of the desired length of the product.
7. Shoulder length. Measured when the desired result is a top with wide straps.

You can't take measurements yourself, because the result may be inaccurate. And in the art of sewing, any inaccuracy threatens that the product simply won't fit the model, so it's better to ask someone to help.

You can use the size chart as a guide.

Dimensional feature	42	44	46	48	50	52
Neck circumference, cm	34	34.8	35.6	36.4	37.2	37.8
Chest width, cm	32.2	33	33.8	34.8	35.4	36.2
Shoulder circumference, cm	26	27.4	29.2	31	32.4	40.6
Chest circumference, cm	84	88	92	96	100	104
Back width, cm	33.6	34.6	35.6	36.6	37.6	38.6
Waist circumference, cm	66	70	74	78	82	86
Back length to waist, cm (including protruding shoulder blades)	41.3	41.4	41.5	41.6	41.7	41.8

Sewing stages taking into account the model

Each sleeveless T-shirt model is individual and requires a special approach to work. Before sewing a summer top, you should study the algorithm of actions in detail. In addition, you need to prepare all the necessary materials and tools in advance.

In lingerie style with lace

For sewing a lingerie top, you can choose silk, chiffon, satin, light cotton. The main rule: the fabric should flow, be light and delicate.

The lingerie style top has thin straps.

We sew according to the following algorithm:

1. Cut out a pattern from paper. Under the darts, you need to sign the names of the parts, and also mark the front and back sides.
2. Fold the fabric in half. Place the pattern on the fold and secure the paper with pins.
3. Cut out the elements from the material according to the pattern, leaving a 1 cm seam allowance on each side. You should end up with two front and two back pieces.
4. These parts need to be folded with the wrong side facing each other. Sew, joining them on the sides.
5. The straps can be made from strings in the color of the fabric.
6. Turn one part of the product inside out and sew on the straps.
7. Take the second part of the top, turn it inside out, thread the other part through it, pin it at the top along the perimeter of the product.
8. Sew the top using a sewing machine.
9. Turn the top inside out, pin a lace ribbon to the bottom of the garment, and stitch again.

Iron the resulting lace top. You can wash it right away, but it is better to do this before sewing. Some types of fabric may shrink after washing.

Summer with straps

As a rule, patterns for summer tops are practically no different from patterns for lingerie-style items. The only difference is the material. A summer top is sewn like this:

1. Trace any T-shirt that fits well on paper and cut it out. In this case, you need to select a material that is similar to the sample in terms of elasticity.
2. Fold the fabric in half and apply the pattern to the fold. Secure with pins, cut out, remembering to leave a seam allowance around the perimeter of the entire product (1 cm) and at the bottom (3-4 cm). You should get 4 pieces: 2 front and 2 back.
3. Sew the front and back pieces together at the sides, placing them wrong side to each other. Then insert one piece into the other, sew around the perimeter from the wrong side.
4. Finish the bottom of the top: fold it over twice at the same distance, sew on the machine.

To create a women's top for the summer season, elastic cotton fabric is suitable. It should be light but durable. It is important that the knitted top does not impede air exchange.

From an old t-shirt

You can sew a short sports top yourself even from an old T-shirt that fits your size. You should follow this algorithm:

1. If the T-shirt has long sleeves, they need to be cut into a semicircle.
2. The bottom of the product should be cut with scissors (straight line or semicircle). For decoration with ties, you can leave two stripes at the bottom on the front of the T-shirt, cut the rest short. The stripes should be positioned like parts of an unbuttoned shirt. Then they should be tied in a careless knot. This option for processing the bottom of the product is now popular.

This top is suitable for walks or sports. Light casualness and maximum comfort are in trend now, so you don’t need to machine the edges.

Simple without a pattern

You can create anything from a regular piece of fabric. But not everyone wants to deal with taking measurements and creating a pattern. There is a method for sewing an interesting miniature T-shirt without preliminary markings on the fabric.

Sewing algorithm:

1. Take a rectangular piece of fabric. It should be wider than the model's shoulders, and the length should be slightly below the waist. It is better to take silk or satin material.
2. Lay the fabric on the table. Fold the upper corners to the middle, leaving a distance of 3-4 cm between them.
3. Secure the fold line on both sides with pins. Cut off the folded corners, leaving 1 cm from the location of the fasteners. The top of the product is the neck, it will be located under the neck.
4. Sew the cut folds.
5. Attach a thin elastic band to the inside of the neck and stitch.
6. Next, fold the fabric remaining on top of the elastic band to the wrong side (hide the elastic band) and stitch.
7. Trim the bottom of the garment to the desired top length.
8. Place a wide elastic band on the front side of the bottom of the T-shirt and sew it from the inside.
9. Attach fasteners to the sides of the elastic elements.
10. Thread a string through the pocket where the elastic is located. Adjust the length to the size of the girl's neck.

How to decorate

To make the top unique and interesting, girls strive to decorate it with their own hands. However, it is worth remembering that the decorative elements should be in harmony with the style and color scheme of the product.

Decoration methods:

1. Sew beads of different sizes onto the neck of the product, the closer to the neck, the more beads.
2. A top with straps can be decorated with fringe, placing it near the neckline.
3. Sew lace ribbons to the straps and bottom of the top.
4. Make embroidery on the chest or along the bottom of the product.

A top with thin straps can be easily sewn by yourself. Following the instructions, even a novice craftswoman can handle the job. Fashionable and stylish sleeveless T-shirts will remain at the peak of popularity for a long time. A lingerie top worn under a formal jacket will add charm to the image, and in combination with a pencil skirt it will look elegant and fashionable.

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