The most sustainable piece of clothing is the one you already own! Altering clothing is one of my favorite ways to have a more sustainable wardrobe. And with that in mind, I decided to alter a tank top that wasn’t getting much wear!
I bought this particular tank top back in the summer of 2018. I purchased it shortly after I became interested in ethical clothing brands. It was just as I was becoming aware of the benefits of natural fabrics. I was looking for a white cami like this and the fact that it was made from raw silk sealed the deal for me.
And as much as I loved the style and the material, it has remained largely unworn in my wardrobe. But it never comes close to the discard pile. So, what’s a girl to do?
Alter it, of course.
Aside from taking the hemlines of pants and dresses up in the past, I’ve never fully reimagined an item. But my recent foray into sewing had given me enough confidence to finally tackle this project.
Although I used a sewing machine for this project, this could also be done by hand.
The Tank Top in it’s Original Form
Maybe it wasn’t the tank top, maybe it was just me. Whatever the reason, that hem had to go.
And how I would have (and did) style it…
I mean, it’s fine and all but I just wasn’t excited about it, so lets explore what I actually did to alter a tank top that I wasn’t wearing.
Step 1. Cutting off the hem.
I measured about 8″ down from the armpit on each side, made a little snip and then laid a measuring tape from one cut to the other to use as a guide when cutting.
Step 2: Joining the fabric to make the new hem.
I had 2 pieces of natural raw silk left over from a previous sewing project so I sewed them together into 1 large circular piece. It ended up being significantly bigger that the original hem because I wanted to do a ruffled hem and I needed a lot of material to make a lot of gathers.
Step 3: Preparing the needle.
I threaded a needle, knotted the thread near the needle and left the rest attached to the spool so that I didn’t have to estimate how much thread I needed in advance and risk running short.
Step 4: Making the gathers.
This was my 4th time doing gathers. And I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. The trick seems to be not being lazy and rushing through it with large gathers. Taking my time and making smaller gathers definitely gives me a better result!
Step 5: Sewing the ruffle hem onto the tank top.
I used a regular stitch to attach the gathered ruffle onto the top part of the cami. I finished the seam with a zigzag stitch. Once I had done that, I tried the cami on but I didn’t like how far down the ruffle sat so I pinned some of the fabric up (what is in my hand) and stitched it up. Unfortunately I was a bad documenter of this part so I didn’t get a picture of the tank top when it was too long.
Step 6: Hemming the bottom of the tank top.
Once I was happy with where the ruffle hit me at the waist, I decided where I wanted the bottom of the top to end and pinned it up. I double rolled the material and stitched it so I would have to worry about fraying.
The Tank Top in it’s Final Form
I’m really happy with how this this tank top turned out! It feels really fun and playful!
I feel much more excited about this top now, which is how we should all feel about our clothing. And if something isn’t working, give altering it a shot.
Have you ever altered a piece of clothing and loved the outcome? Would you alter a tank top like this?
Is there a different piece of clothing that you’re not that into at the moment that you would consider altering to make it into something that you would enjoy more?
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram to see the different ways that I style this top!
Until next time,
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so clever and creative, and elegantly simple to do. thank you!!
Thank you Amy! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
So cute! I am a big fan of ruffled hemlines 🙂
Thank you Anna!! I am too…they make anything seem fun!