Summer top resizing…

I picked up this summery top for 40p at a jumble sale. It’s lovely and crisp cotton with a little bit of stretch and cute pintucks but it was a size 18, and I’m not a size 18.

First I slit the sides to below the darts – I didn’t just need to take it in, I also needed to make the darts smaller so I opened them up too.

First I pinned the darts the right amount (check out a shirt that fits you well for a guide) but this left a lot of excess fabric above. I decided to sew this as another dart running flush to the seam of the band around the top. This meant I could hide the excess fabric and make the band run level all around.

When I was happy sewed the darts up.

See how the top hem runs flush? I then pinned and sewed the sides, removing about an inch from each.

It looked fine on the mannequin but on me it gaped a little at the top so I had to put in a little pleat. It’s not the most elegant of solutions and I might have another look at the elastic at the back to see if I could pull it tighter at the top.

It’ll do as a little summer top though!
Beccy Ridsdel