Floral Tank Refashion

Hello all! Today's make is a refashion of a top I made all the way back in 2013. It was supposed to be a 5 minute jobby but turned into a one day saga. The neckline on the old top was too high which meant that it didn't get much wear and I decided that it was time to give it a makeover for my upcoming solo trip to Amsterdam next week (argghh!)  

I originally put the top on my dress form, pinned where I wanted the new neckline and straps to be, but that ended up just being a bit of a disaster. So then I went to my trusty pattern stash and dug up Simplicity 5461 (the dress pattern not the bear pattern) and used the tank pieces as a guide for a new neckline and armholes. After I cut the new neckline and armholes I realised that the neckline was far too low, revealing pretty much everything that shouldn't be revealed. I had 2 options: throwing it into the corner of the room and never speaking to it again, or just sticking back on the bit of the neckline that I had just cut off.

I went with option 2 because without it my Amsterdam capsule wardrobe would be nothing. So, off to the ironing board I went, butted the bit of the neckline that I had just cut off to the top with some interfacing underneath and ironed it into place. Then I was just left with some raw edges to hide. After a rummage around my ribbon drawers I found this vintage lace trim which I think was handworked by one of my Mums friends Mothers. It was a perfect accent to a pretty simple top.

I could have left the trim on just the front of the top, but the shoulders were a bit wide so I used the trim across the shoulders to keep them in place, crossing them at the centre back. The back neckline I kept the same as the original low neckline so you can imagine where that would sit on my front. The side seams were already French seamed and the hem turned up twice which saved me some time. The only finishing I had to do was silk bias binding around the neckline and armholes. It ended up pretty short due to all of the chopping, but it's a perfect length with these jeans. I'm sad that summer is over so I can't wear it as much as it deserves.

Thanks very much for reading and to Ed for the photos!

Lauren xx