Harness your style and self-draft your own halter neck top from jeans, created by designer Matthew Dummigan
YOU WILL NEED
■ T-shirt with your favourite fit
■ 2 pairs of trousers/jeans
■ 0.5m lining fabric
■ 0.5m interfacing
■ Pattern paper
■ Poppers
■ Matching or contrasting thread
■ Basic Sewing Kit
NOTES
■ Suggested seam allowance 1cm
■ You could use 1.5m of fabric and lining, instead of the trousers.
DRAFTING THE PATTERN
Step one With your t-shirt inside out, fold it in half so the back meets back and the front neck is visible and place on your paper making sure you have space around your t-shirt. 01
Step two Now your t-shirt is flat, mark on your paper the top of the neck, the shoulder, under the arm and both corners of the bottom.
Remove the t-shirt and join the marks to create the outline. 02
Step three Using your tape measure mark your seam allowance of 1cm down the underarm side and neckline. For the bottom seam allowance, I suggest 2cm. 03
Step four Make a mark on the side seam, I suggest 7.5cm from the top. Then 5cm from the front centre on the neckline, make another mark. Connect these marks using a curved line. Add a 1cm seam allowance to this edge. 04
Step five It's time to make this top say something about you. You can leave this curved line as it is, or play with shapes to make it more interesting. I added points to my line. Just make sure if you do add shapes or a bit of flair, add the seam allowance as well. 05
Step six Lay your front pattern piece on more paper, trace the side seam, and mark the front centre. Remove the pattern piece and focus on what will become the back. The back is two pieces that overlap in the centre back. Measure 7cm past the centre front mark and draw a line.
Step seven Connect the side seam and centre back using curved lines. Then cut out your paper pattern. 06
CUTTING OUT
Step one As I am recycling jeans, the first thing I need to do is ensure I have enough fabric to construct the front. Cut away the legs, unpick the inside seam of both legs and iron the seam allowances flat. Sew the pieces right sides (RS) together. If you are using large fabric, you will not need to do this.
Step two Align the front pattern piece with the line of stitching, pin and cut around the piece. If you are using large fabric, cut on the fold. 07
Step three Place the front pattern piece on top of the lining and cut out, you don’t
