Tuesday, 8 August 2017

Upcycling chevrons

Dressmaking Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Back in 2008, I bought a rather large sack-style top from H&M. It was a time when 1. I was vaguely larger (thank you university stress-related binge-eating), and 2. it was cool to wear a belt round your waist, instead of round your trousers. I thought it looked pretty good back then, but now - down a few pounds and beltless - it is quite awful.

It seemed too sad to let it go though. I love a good chevron. In fact, stripes in general are pretty ace. And, quite tragically, my collection of striped attire is almost non-existent. I have been keeping an eye out in the fabric shops, but all the stripes have been super-thin, and almost always in navy. Which is fine, but not very "me".

One blazing hot day in early June, we had the builders in to redo our bathroom. Not only did I feel far too self-conscious to head out bikini-clad into the garden for a spot of sunbathing, but they had to switch the electricity off. Meaning I couldn't even play on my sewing machine (they should deffo be battery powered)

'What non-electrical sewing activities can I crack on with?' I pondered.

And then I came up with an excellent idea. I wonder if you can guess what it was ;)

I had a pattern already, roughly traced from a Topshop-bought cami. It requires minimal fabric, which is very useful when working with the weird-and-wonderfully-shaped pieces of an existing top. I unpicked the side seams, and lay the front out as smoothly as I could. I pinned my pattern piece straight down the centre of the chevron, and then pinned around the edges, making the stripes as symmetrical as I could (e.g. making the top of both side seams start with a full white stripe width).

Then I positioned my back pattern piece so that the stripes would align with the front piece along the side seams, creating a whole 360° chevron. Nice!

I made thin straps cut from the remnants. This was the fiddliest bit, folding in all the raw edges, keeping the straps a consistent width, and then sewing as close to the edge as I could. (Many pins involved!).

I made a short lining, exactly the same shape as the front and back pieces, but chopped off just below my boobs. Linings are so underrated - let's please have a moment of appreciation for this unsung hero, making necklines beautifully smooth, without any visible stitches! And in this instance, it also allowed me to hide away the raw ends of the straps. Oh lining, I don't know where I'd be without you.

Once all my pattern pieces were cut, and the straps were made, the whole thing came together very quickly. I sewed the neckline first, sandwiching the straps between the bodice and lining. Then side seams - taking care with my stripe alignment. There's a little (intentional!) split at the bottom of each side, with the back longer than the front. A nice detail, and a quick way to work out which way round I should put it on!

Finally, hemmed it, and it's good to go. I will write a more detailed tutorial about constructing it soon.

This was a very satisfying project. Fairly straightforward, and ended up with a top that is versatile, comfortable and cool. And to think it came from that bag thing! This leopard really has changed its spots. Or rather, chevrons.