Off-the-shoulder tops were so on trend over the summer and I’m just now catching the reason why. They’re so easy to wear and are perfect for the heat without exposing too much skin. Today I’ll be showing you how to make your own from just a little fabric and trim. It’s basically 2 tubes overlaping each other, one to go underneath your arms and one to go across them. Like all my other DIYs, it’s super easy and if you have any questions, just let me know! On with the tutorial! :)
– 1/2-1 yard of 45-60″ wide fabric light, flowy fabric: chiffon, crepe, voile, cotton, poplin, gauze, or silk are great examples. mine is a light stretch gauze. 1/2 yard makes a 15″ long top, so if you want your top to be longer, buy more yardage. as for the width of the fabric, you can get away with 45″ if you’re small busted but for larger girls, go with something that’s 60″ wide.
– 1.5 yards of 5″ wide eyelet or lace to go around your shoulders
– 1.5- 2 yards of 1/2″ wide elastic
– needle and thread
– pins + 1 safety pin
– scissors
– measuring tape or ruler
– a pen
1. Fold your fabric in half, hamburger style. Match up the edges and sew along the side.
3. Cut a piece of elastic that fits under your arms/armpits and across chest comfortably. When measuring, stretch it a little, but not too much. Attatch a safety pin onto one end of the elastic. Insert the elastic (safety pin side first) into the casing though the gap you’ve left unsewn. Use the safety pin to help you feed the elastic all the way around the top of the tube.
4. Keep threading the elastic through the casing until it comes out though the hole again. Since you’re going in a circle, both ends of the elastic should be at the opening. Sew the ends together. Then sew the gap/opening you used to insert the elastic closed.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 with the eyelet trim but this time, cutting the elastic to fit over your shoulders, not under. It should look something like this. Place the smaller tube (eyelet) over the larger fabric tube. Pin together at the center front and center back.
6. Stitch a small vertical line at the pins where the elastic is to secure the pieces together. And you’re done! The fabric tube sits under your arms and the eyelet around your shoulders. Because the two tubes are seperate, you can adjust how off-the-shoulder you’d like your top to be.
And that’s it! Wasn’t it easy? If you try this, please send me pictures via Twitter, Instagram, or even blog post by leaving a link below. I would love to see your creations!
XX,
