Friday, February 28, 2014

What You Love Tank by Mind, Body & Sew



Love this tank!  Perfection all around.
  • Two pattern pieces
  • Easy to sew
  • Nice shapes in the neckline and racer back
  • Fits
  • Flattering

And it's a download pattern which means instant gratification.  It's the What You Love Tank at Mind, Body & Sew.


The easy-to-sew is in part due to the neckline and armscye treatment.  Instead of adding a binding the raw edges are simply turned under 1/2 inch.  The edges are turned under once and topstitched with a zigzag or a coverstitch or they can be turned under twice for a narrower finish.  Does this work, you might ask?  Yes indeed, it works very well and it is a finish I have used often in my sewing life with great success.  Usually the knits I do this with have some lycra content or are stable knits but it works well enough on lighter weight rayon knits or a non lycra cotton jersey like the one in the photo.


The bottom hem is sewn along the stretch of the fabric can a little tricky with a knit that doesn't have the best recovery.  The edge can stretch out quite a bit so I used the "crowding" technique where a finger is placed right behind the presser foot while sewing which makes the fabric bunch up between the finger and the presser foot.  When there is a pile of fabric bunched up, release that fabric and put the finger back for some more crowding.  I also had to do some steaming with my iron and reshaping of the hem.

Who is that headless sewing room helper?  There is a hint in my previous post.   More about her later.  Today it's all about the What You Love Tank.