Take 2-Upcycled Ruff Tank

The dress that I made G (in the below post) was a bit big, however I bet it will perfect for the scorching August heat! I decided to use another hand-me down tank and some scrap fabric to try a tank top, it turned out great! She actually wore it today for a girls outing :-)

I didn't make it as ruffly because my scraps where on the short side, but it still turned out good. The shorter strips of fabric allowed me to keep the tank from stretching too much and making the top wider than I needed it to be. If I was good at tutorials I'd make one-but I'm not so I'll give you some quick intructions. (bare with me...)

Find an old top (or new too!) and measure approx. 1.5-2 inches under the armpit, cutting off the remainingfabric under this line. (I saved my remnants, I'm sure I can use them again someday!)

Measure your models waist area (G is about 18 inches around) and find scraps of fabric that are anywhere from 5-10 inches longer than your models waist. (The dress was 10 inches longer, the tank was 5 inches longer).

The width of the strips are up to you-for the dress the width was 2.5 inches and for the tank the width was 1.5 inches.

Decide the pattern you would like to have with your strips of fabric. Take the 1st & 2nd strip and sew, right sides together, along one side, lengthwise. Continue with the remaining strips of fabric until you have the length you want for your top/dress. (I also serged my ends, this is up to you)

Now iron the fabric so everything lays flat. I also turned the edges (for the seam) of the top side and bottom side of fabric and ironed them. This way they lay flat when I sew them to the tank top and do the hem, the fabric will lay flat.

Next I pinned the fabric to the top, adding ruffles as I went. I tried to do this part of the top w/o pinning but it didn't work so well. I really suggest pinning everything in place so that you can make sure everything is even and how you want it.

Next sew the fabric onto the tank using a zig zag stitch (this helps to prevent too much stretching).

Now sew the seam on the side and sew your hem! ALL DONE!

Now pat your self on the back....not only because you made a cute (and cheap!) top but because you also understood my 'tutorial'.

And here's just a picture that I love of G. We rearranged our living room (which means I get to redecorate/paint-yah!) and had the couch cushions on the floor. G was watching Elmo and decided to chill out on the cushion-how cute is this pic?!