With warm weather not too far away, I’ve got ideas for spring/summer outfits running through my head. The first one pattern I wanted to come up with was a simple halter top for Elliott. One that I can sew in an hour and make her a bunch out of different fabrics. I gave it a shot yesterday and was successful on my first try, so today I made a second one and will share my ‘pattern’ with you.
Elliott is a tiny little thing. She just turned 2, but can still fit in some 18 month stuff. The size that I made for this halter top is plenty roomy, so if you want to copy the measurements exactly, it’s about 24 months to 2T.
So. This is what we’re making (and pardon the photo quality, please. Daylight was gone by the time I finished ). It is finished in bias tape that ties behind the neck and the back has elastic for a really cute little fit.
This could easily be lengthened a bit to make a precious little sundress. I plan to make one in the next few days and will post pictures of it here when it’s done.
The pattern piece for the front of the top is this shape:
When you cut your fabric, you’ll want it folded with the straight side of the pattern piece pinned along the fabric fold.
Across the bottom is 7.5″ (unfolds to 15″).
Across the bustline is 5.5″ (unfolds to 11″).
Across the neckline is 3″ (unfolds to 6″).
From top to bottom: 12″.
Keep in mind that these measurements fit a toddler who is 34″ tall and 25lbs. Adjust to fit your child or email me with any questions.
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S0, since I have received a ton of emails for help with adjusting measurements, I thought I would add this little bit. I hope that it is helpful! Please let me know if the directions are not clear enough. Thank you. 🙂
And now….back to our regularly scheduled programming:
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The back pattern piece is a simple rectangle. In this case, 15″ x 10 1/4″.
Rather than using solid color, boring bias tape from the fabric store, I decided I wanted to make my own. I found a really wonderful tutorial that makes the process very quick and easy. I’m now a big fan of this blogger and her bias-tape brilliance! I was thrilled at how my tape turned out!
**I have now added a video demonstrating this bias tape method!**
For this top I made 4 pieces:
1- 6″ piece (neckline)
1- 36″ piece (straps)
2- 29″ pieces (hem)
Now…getting started….
Grab your back halter fabric (the plain rectangle) and fold down one of the long edges 1/4″. Press. Fold again approximately 1″ and press. Then sew along your fold to create your elastic casing. These steps will look something like this:
Next, cute a piece of elastic that will fit your child. You can measure across her back from armpit to armpit to get an idea. Ours was approximately 10″.
Anchor one end of your elastic with a straight pin at one end of your casing. Attach a safety pin to the other end of your elastic and use the pin to feed the elastic through the casing.
Secure both ends of the elastic by stitching vertically 1/4″ from the edges of the fabric.
Put the back halter piece aside.
Sandwich the top (neckline) edge of the front halter piece within a 6″ length of bias tape. Stitch along the open edge of the bias tape, being sure to catch the underneath layer in your seam. In my picture you will notice 2 lines of stitching. Oops! I let the underside of the bias tape get away from me and had to sew it again. 😀
You’ll use the same basic idea to attach the straps. Start at the bottom of each underarm curve and attach your bias tape. Sew down the entire length of the bias tape to close it and form the strap pieces.
Pin your front and back together at the side seams and sew 1/2″ seams.
You’re almost done!
Starting at one of the side seams, sew the bias tape along the hem of the top. As you near the end, stop sewing and trim your bias tape to the proper length, leaving just a bit to overlap the beginning edge.
And you’re done!
Elliott modeled the top for me when it was done tonight. She was just a little too excited about it, though, and couldn’t stop running around. Forgive her for the quality of the pictures, please! 🙂
Now…please don’t hesitate to email and let me know if I need to be clearer on any details or provide more pictures. If I’ve left anything out…well, I’m sure you all now how hard it is to keep a train of thought with a toddler running around! Just let me know and I’ll be glad to help!
Have fun!
Oh! And I have two requests:
1) If you make one, I would love it if you sent in a picture for me to post!
2) If you want to use this tutorial and sell what you make, that’s great! Go for it because I love WAHMs! Just please link back to me. 🙂