The Tank Top With a Window to My Soul… Errr….. Back

Hello, everyone! I hope y’all are staying cool with these record high temperatures! My family and friends back in New Orleans are melting and we’re hitting above 100 degrees yet again here in Tucson. I can’t wait for fall to get here. It will be another couple of months until we see cooler temperatures, so I made another tank top to get me through the rest of this scorching hot summer.

The front looks all nice and normal until you turn around…

BAM! Random cut-out thingy! It’s like I have my own ventilation system!

The pattern is Simplicity 1589, View A:

The pattern calls for making this in a light woven fabric, but I’m a rebel and made it with a stable knit (you might recognize the fabric from my Arizona Winter/Summer Dress post). I was originally going to make this pattern in a pretty chiffon-like fabric until I saw someone on the Girl Charlee Facebook group post her renditions in knit. Of course I had to be a total copycat and try it myself… plus, I had some scrap fabric to de-stash.

I cut a straight size 6 and sewed with a 3/8″ seam allowance instead of the standard 5/8″. I added 1 1/2″ to the hem because I’m kind of tall and I like my shirts a little longer. In order to make this a little more curve-hugging, I took in 1/2″ at the armpit on each side, grading to 1″ at the waist, then grading back to nothing at the hip a few inches above the hem. I don’t expect I would need these adjustments if I use a floaty lightweight woven material… I guess I’ll have to try it out and see.

I serged all of the seams because I LOVE my serger.

I also followed the instructions and made bias binding out of the fabric for a nice finish at the arm holes and neck.

The only problem was I serged the bias binding first, which made it pretty bulky. You can see in my last modeled picture that the arm holes don’t sit flat against my body. I’m hoping with a few cycles in the washing machine and dryer that it won’t be so stiff.

This was a really easy sew and the only thing that took some time was the arm hole and neck bindings, as usual. I’d like to make more of these and also try View B. I love tank tops and this is definitely different!

I’ll leave you with a picture DD took of the yard ladies while we were doing this photo shoot:

I hope y’all are having a clucking good summer and I’ll see you again soon!

-RED