This tie-neck halter top was my final summer make for this year. I finished it a few days before our Greek vacation. We had such wonderful summer weather in the UK for months on end, then our holiday extended it even more, and I’m so happy to say that I got to wear so many of my hot-weather outfits this year.
A little backstory…A few weeks back, I was approached on Instagram by Beglarian Fabrics and invited to collaborate with them. They sent me a large box of amazing fabrics, and although blogging about them isn’t part of the collab, I’m happy to share my projects here as well as on Instagram. This lovely leaf-print cotton batiste came from my amazing gifted bundle.
The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that the pattern I used for this top is the same one as my recent double gauze dress. It’s the Liesl and Co Sintra dress and top, which I’ve adapted to have a tie neckline.
The adaptation was fairly simple, really; I just needed to extend the top portion of the back and front pattern pieces upwards. It was a bit of a case of try-it-and-see to get just the right amount of extra height, so there was a bit of trimming and trying involved with my mock-up. I also had a bit of trial and error with the collar to get the side gaps the right length, where there is no bodice fabric attached. Once I was happy, I could cut my lovely fabric.
The cotton batiste is very fine in texture and is a bit translucent too, so I decided I needed a lightweight lining. I chose some lightweight cotton muslin, which was perfect for the job. I sewed French seams at the sides on both the lining and main fabric before adding the armhole bindings with both layers together.
For most of the neckband, it’s just the cotton batiste, but I figured that I needed something inside the part that actually goes around my neck to help it stand up a bit better. My solution? I used some silk organza. And guess where I got the organza from…I stole it from my pressing cloth, heehee! Well, needs must, eh? And it works really well in the band too, so that’s a win 🙂
With the tie neck, there’s no need for a button or buttonhole at the back neck, so although I didn’t need to do that, I did quite a bit of handsewing to fix the underside of the band in place. I wanted a nice clean look without topstitching, and I’m happy with the result.
I got to wear my top on holiday and felt great in it. It feels as light as a feather to wear, and I still have more fabric left, so I plan on sewing a blouse with it too. I’m also looking forward to sewing up some of the other fabrics from my gifted bundle too.
By the way, I should probably mention that I have a discount code that you could use at Beglarian Fabrics. With the code Diane20 you can get 20% off a purchase. I found them to be quick with delivery and there’s a huge selection of fabrics to choose from.
Thanks for stopping by; see you soon!
