Tutorial Tuesday

It's Tuesday! With warmer weather bound to show up soon, I made Leah a little summer top!

I think I got the idea for this shirt at a store, but I can't remember where....

Here's the tutorial:

To make the pattern, I used a t-shirt that fit Leah:

I drew down the side, neck and shoulders. Then I folded the sleeve in for the armhole:

I straightened out the side, drew the length I wanted, added seam allowance just to the shoulder and side seams, and was left with this:

I also drew the lower neckline for the front (about 1" lower at center):

I wanted a back yoke, so I traced the pattern until about 3" from the shoulder. I drew a line straight across and then added seam allowance:

Then I traced the rest of the pattern piece and added seam allowance to the top:

Pattern pieces done:

Time to cut everything out!

I wanted 4 pleats in the back, so I cut the bottom back piece 1" from the fold:

Same for the front, 1" from fold for pleats:

Next, I cut the back yoke on the fold and also cut some 1 3/4" strips for bias tape (not shown):

I also cut a 2" by 19" piece for the ruffle and a 3/4" by 14" piece for the button tabs:

Time to mark pleats! For the back, first I marked the center. Then to the right from center, 1/4", 3/4", 1 1/4", and 1 3/4". Then repeated to the left.

For the front, I marked center, then 1", 1 1/2", 2", and 2 1/2" on both sides of center.

Looks kind of like that:

Then I matched the second mark to the third, and the fourth to the fifth on both sides of center. I sewed the pleats down about 4 1/2" in the front and about 1 1/2" in the back:

I cut 4 1/2" down the center for the opening:

Next, I sewed the back piece to the back yoke, finishing the seam and topstitching it:

and also sewed the shoulder seams: 

Using the bias tape I made from the strips I cut, I finished the armholes:

and sewed the side seams:

I ironed the piece for the ruffle in half, the long way:

and ironed the strip for the button tabs with the long edges meeting in the middle:

and then in half, to make a skinny strip:

Topstitched this close to the open edge and cut it into 4- 3" pieces:

Next, I ran a gathering stitch for the ruffle, and pinned it around the front opening. I basted it down and then placed my button tabs evenly, 1/2" from the top and then every  1 1/4" after that:

After I sewed the ruffle and button tabs on, I sewed the bias tape around the front opening too:

and then around the neck:

I folded the button tabs over and sewed them down:

Finally, I hemmed the bottom and added some 3/8" buttons!

Shirt finished:

We ran out this morning to grab some sunshine for some pictures!

Perfect for Summer!

Sweet back pleats:

A perfect Summer shirt, for warmer days to come!

Any questions? Let me know! :)

Linked to:

Running with Glitter

Creative Itch
kojo designs
Tatertots and Jello