DIY MATERNITY TANK RUCHING & FIXING A TOO BIG TANK

MONDAY, AUGUST 26, 2013

Good day friends!

I recently worked on 2 tanks to fit my changing body.

This first tank was a Ross maternity purchase but unfortunately

its shape was not flattering.

 I wore it 2x before I finally HAD to fix it,

and both times I felt totally frumpy, even though it's so cute.

Check it out, including the thrifted tank I worked on.

BEFORE

Pretty long and shapeless at the waist 

Adding some ruching to the sides was the simplest 

and quickest fix.

 T.L. I used thin elastic I had removed from some other redo. 

I used about 4" and seared the ends.

B.L. I then turned tank inside out,

attached elastic 1 inch from the bottom and 6 inches above from there.

R. I then carefully stretched as I sewed slowly. 

T. Ruching on elastic side

B. Ruching on opposite side.

AFTER

That's it!

It's a great way to adjust any top,

it doesn't have to be just maternity wear.

It gives you pleating around the waist and can be pretty flattering.

BLOUSE RESTYLED

////////////////////

Tiered tank

I thrifted this non-maternity, tiered tank because it was so cute and inexpensive.
But, it was also WAY too big, especially the arm holes.

-_-_-_-_->>>Now, I MUST remind you all,<<<-_-_-_-_-

I am a novice with sewing.

I am NOT implying this is the right way to fix the blouse 

or anything I work on and share.

I sew for the fun, functionality, and challenge of it.

It will not always be aesthetically pleasing

but it will serve its purpose of dressing this momma, addressing the function issues, helping me feel confident, giving me more experience with difficult to tackle items

and just maybe, give you some insight on how to tackle your own items.

-_-_-_-_->>><<<-_-_-_-_-

This redo was a little more time consuming but worth it in the end.

L. Detaching the bottom and middle layers at the seams only and 2 & 1/2 inches to the right and left of seam.

R. Detaching the bias tape from the arm hole.

 L. I pinned the black material to take in, 1&1/2 inches to 2 inches

R. Material sewed and cut. Excess printed fabric hanging over.

Reattached layer.

I sewed the printed fabric as closely to the new width of the black,

cut the excess, folded in edges, sewed to stop from fraying and then reattached

to the black fabric.

Not perfect, maybe even the lazy way, as I did NOT remove each layer entirely.

 When I got to the the top layer/arm hole area,

I pinned the bias tape on each side, cut some of the excess,

laid 1 side down, tucked in the edge of the 2nd side, overlapped it

and finally sewed.

My church outfit

AFTER!

I wish I could say, it was sooo easy

but it was definitely time consuming.

It was worth it though,  I love it

and got compliments at church!

:)