0:00:11.290,0:00:15.110
Hey. Welcome to another episode of get thready[br]with me. Today, I’m going to show you all

0:00:15.110,0:00:20.980
how to make a high-neck sleeveless crop top.[br]This style of shirt is a really nice, basic,

0:00:20.980,0:00:26.430
yet flattering piece to own, and they go with[br]pretty much – anything.

0:00:26.430,0:00:27.240
So let’s go!

0:00:27.240,0:00:31.490
Okay, so the first thing I need to do is to[br]make the pattern, and to do this I pick out

0:00:31.490,0:00:36.649
a t-shirt that fits me well, is fairly tight-fitting[br]and is made out of stretchy fabric. You can

0:00:36.649,0:00:40.260
pretty much use any tight-fitting t-shirt[br]– but the most important thing is that the

0:00:40.260,0:00:43.100
t-shirt needs to have a high back of the neck.

0:00:43.100,0:00:47.050
So to make the pattern, I first turn this[br]t-shirt inside out. It needs to lie with the

0:00:47.050,0:00:50.480
back of the shirt (which is usually where[br]the tag is) facing up.

0:00:50.480,0:00:55.180
First I make a mark 2 inches away from the[br]neckline, on both sides, on the top of this seam.

0:00:55.180,0:00:57.510
Then, I make a mark directly underneath each armhole seam.

0:01:00.300,0:01:02.180
Then I need to work out what width the bust

0:01:02.190,0:01:05.439
measurement needs to be.[br]So I took my bust measurement.

0:01:05.439,0:01:10.540
Then, I took 2 inches off this measurement.[br]And then I divided this by 2.

0:01:10.540,0:01:14.659
This gives me 17 inches.[br]So, I make two marks at the same height as

0:01:14.659,0:01:19.430
the armholes, just bringing them in so that[br]this is 17 inches across.

0:01:19.430,0:01:22.840
Now I’m going to join up these two marks[br]with a curve.

0:01:22.840,0:01:27.110
Now you can either use one of these French[br]curve rulers if you have one, or you can just

0:01:27.110,0:01:31.640
eyeball it. With the curve, you want to kind[br]of follow the shape of the curve of the armhole

0:01:31.640,0:01:35.900
on the t-shirt that’s already there, but[br]bringing the curve in at the top so that it

0:01:35.900,0:01:37.310
meets up with your other mark.

0:01:37.310,0:01:41.579
The next step is to decide how long you want[br]the shirt to be. I wanted my top to be around

0:01:41.579,0:01:46.799
17 and a half inches long. I took off an inch[br]to allow for the turtle neck, but then added

0:01:46.799,0:01:51.790
it back on for the hem allowance at the bottom[br]of the shirt. So, I made a mark 17 and a half

0:01:51.790,0:01:54.549
inches below the centre of the t-shirt’s[br]neckline.

0:01:57.380,0:02:01.660
The bottom of the crop top is going to sit[br]pretty much at your waistline. So, I took

0:02:01.670,0:02:05.930
my waist measurement and then again, I minus[br]2 inches, and then I divided this measurement

0:02:05.930,0:02:06.469
by 2.

0:02:06.469,0:02:12.489
So, for me, I got 14 inches. So I’m going[br]to make this bottom line 14 inches long, by

0:02:12.489,0:02:17.160
connecting up these 3 marks in a straight[br]line.

0:02:17.160,0:02:23.300
And then lastly I need to connect up these[br]two lines.

0:02:23.300,0:02:26.819
And this is what my basic top pattern is going[br]to look like.

0:02:26.819,0:02:29.750
Now I need to transfer this pattern onto some[br]paper.

0:02:29.750,0:02:34.459
I fold the shirt exactly in half and I put[br]a piece of paper inside, matching up the edges

0:02:34.459,0:02:36.140
of the paper with the fold.

0:02:36.140,0:02:40.849
Then, using some pins, I press through the[br]shirt, following the chalk lines, all the

0:02:40.849,0:02:44.030
way around.[br]This creates small holes on the paper below.

0:02:44.030,0:02:50.930
Then, all I need to do is simply connect these[br]small holes together just like a join-the-dot picture.

0:02:52.620,0:02:56.610
And I cut this out. See! They're the same[br]size! Woo hoo!

0:02:56.610,0:03:00.540
Okay, so this is the only pattern piece that[br]I'm going to need, and it’s going to be

0:03:00.540,0:03:02.720
used for both the front and the back of the[br]shirt.

0:03:02.720,0:03:06.959
Now that's done, on to fabrics. The fabric[br]that I’m making my shirt out of is a very

0:03:06.959,0:03:11.760
stretchy, 2-way stretch ribbed jersey, but[br]you can pretty much use any stretchy jersey fabric.

0:03:12.670,0:03:16.950
To copy my pattern onto the fabric, I fold[br]the fabric in half, and then I place the pattern

0:03:16.950,0:03:19.430
piece on top, with this edge on the fold.

0:03:20.840,0:03:24.300
Now because I don’t trust myself to cut[br]it out accurately while it’s just on top

0:03:24.300,0:03:29.670
like that, I pin it on, trace around it, then[br]remove the pattern piece, put pins in to hold

0:03:29.670,0:03:33.050
the two layers in place, and then I cut around[br]the traced lines.

0:03:39.340,0:03:43.709
And when I unfold it, I have this![br]Now I simply need to do this once more, so

0:03:43.709,0:03:46.340
that I'll have 2 pieces.

0:03:46.340,0:03:49.820
Now that I have 2 identical pieces, I sandwich[br]them together,

0:03:54.709,0:03:58.549
and then I sew the two pieces together at[br]the sides and at the shoulders.

0:03:58.549,0:04:04.090
And it’s also a good idea to pin pin pin[br]when you’re working with stretchy fabric.

0:04:04.090,0:04:08.599
To sew the front and back pieces together,[br]I am using a zig zag stitch. Some extra tips

0:04:08.599,0:04:12.129
to make your life easier is to also use a[br]thread that’s very similar to the colour

0:04:12.129,0:04:16.829
of your fabric, and to use a ball-point jersey[br]needle, instead of a regular sewing machine needle.

0:04:17.410,0:04:20.890
Once these two pieces are sewn together, I[br]turn the top inside out so that the seams

0:04:20.890,0:04:22.560
are on the inside.

0:04:22.570,0:04:26.380
And it’s a good idea to try it on at this[br]stage, to make sure that it fits alright,

0:04:26.380,0:04:29.949
and that you can get your head through the[br]neckhole, etc.

0:04:29.949,0:04:34.030
Now I’m going to make the "cuff" for the[br]neck. I measure the circumference of the neck

0:04:34.030,0:04:38.590
hole, which is 10 inches.[br]I then take HALF an inch off that measurement,

0:04:38.590,0:04:42.180
and so I cut out a strip which is only 9 and[br]a half inches long.

0:04:42.180,0:04:47.330
It’s also 3 inches wide, but if you want[br]more of a turtle neck, you can increase this,

0:04:47.330,0:04:52.110
or if you LESS of a turtle neck then decrease[br]this and make the strip thinner.

0:04:52.110,0:04:56.919
Anyway, after cutting this rectangle out I[br]fold it in half like this, and then I sew

0:04:56.919,0:04:59.470
down here, with a half inch seam allowance.

0:04:59.470,0:05:03.520
Then, I turn the piece inside-out so that[br]the seam is on the inside, and then fold it

0:05:03.520,0:05:08.720
in half length-ways like this, to give myself[br]this kind of cuff… thing.

0:05:08.720,0:05:19.789
Then, I place 4 pins equally around the neck[br]hole. So, one pin on each shoulder seam, and

0:05:19.789,0:05:24.940
one in the centre front and one in the centre[br]back. I do the same thing on the neck cuff,

0:05:24.940,0:05:29.220
with 4 evenly-spaced pins.[br]I’m going to match these pins up when I

0:05:29.220,0:05:30.700
sew the two pieces together.

0:05:34.060,0:05:38.900
To sew the cuff on, I’m first removing this[br]doobly-doo from my machine so that the cuff

0:05:38.900,0:05:40.240
will fit over the top.

0:05:40.270,0:05:45.710
Then, I slide the neck cuff on, with the raw[br]edges facing this way, and the neckline of

0:05:45.710,0:05:50.030
the shirt goes underneath it. So, the cuff[br]is going to be sewn onto the right side of

0:05:50.030,0:05:51.490
the shirt.

0:05:51.980,0:05:57.420
Once I match up the raw edges, I sew the neck[br]cuff onto the shirt! I do this by using a

0:05:57.430,0:06:02.860
zig-zag stitch, and at the same time stretching[br]the fabric underneath so each set of pins

0:06:02.860,0:06:04.920
basically match up.

0:06:10.639,0:06:14.770
When I get to the next set of pins, I remove[br]them, and then I do the same thing – I stitch

0:06:14.770,0:06:20.740
along the edge, stretching the fabrics so[br]that the next set of pins line up.

0:06:20.740,0:06:26.060
And I do this all around the neckhole until[br]I reach the point where I started from.

0:06:26.060,0:06:28.520
And – that's the neckline done!

0:06:28.520,0:06:33.130
For the armholes, I’m basically going to[br]do the exact same thing, however the strips

0:06:33.130,0:06:36.259
are going to be a little bit thinner.[br]I measure the armhole circumference (which

0:06:36.259,0:06:41.919
for me, is 15 inches), then this time I subtract[br]1 whole inch from this measurement. So,

0:06:41.919,0:06:45.770
I cut out a strip that’s 14 inches long and[br]1.5 inches wide.

0:06:45.770,0:06:51.099
Then I do the exact same thing that I did[br]for the neck. I fold this strip in half, sew

0:06:51.099,0:07:00.319
here, turn it around, fold it in half lengthways[br]to get a cuff, quarter it with pins, quarter

0:07:00.319,0:07:05.990
the armhole evenly with pins, and I sew them[br]together, raw edges matching, with the cuff

0:07:05.990,0:07:11.190
on the right side of the shirt. And again,[br]I stretch the fabric while I sew so that each

0:07:11.190,0:07:15.450
set of pins matches up with each other.

0:07:28.919,0:07:31.880
Now the last thing that I need to do is to[br]hem the bottom of the shirt.

0:07:31.880,0:07:39.190
So, I turn the shirt inside out, and then[br]I fold the bottom up about inch, and then

0:07:39.190,0:07:43.139
sew across it.[br]Now I recently got myself this special sewing

0:07:43.139,0:07:49.220
foot called a “walking foot”. This thing[br]makes sewing with stretchy fabrics A DREAM.

0:07:49.220,0:07:53.520
Basically, it helps feed all the fabric through[br]evenly to stop the hem from ruffling when

0:07:53.520,0:07:58.560
you sew it. If you don’t own a walking foot,[br]however, I recommend sewing the hem using

0:07:58.560,0:08:01.979
a piece of paper underneath, just like I did[br]in this video here.

0:08:01.979,0:08:05.780
Here’s a close up of the walking foot in[br]action.

0:08:05.780,0:08:08.669
And – look at my nice, flat hem!

0:08:08.669,0:08:13.750
So, I finished the top - but then I tried[br]it on a decided that the armholes were slightly

0:08:13.750,0:08:18.940
too tight. So I actually wanted to try and[br]make the top again, but modify the pattern

0:08:18.940,0:08:23.639
slightly to make the armholes larger.[br]So, back to my pattern - all I simply did

0:08:23.639,0:08:27.590
was to make my armhole a little bit larger[br]by extending this curve.

0:08:27.590,0:08:33.620
And, I tried again, this time using the same[br]fabric but in black. And I’m not going to

0:08:33.620,0:08:39.260
film the whole thing again because all the[br]steps I used are exactly the same as before!

0:08:39.260,0:08:40.360
SO – that’s it!

0:08:40.360,0:08:43.420
[MUSIC: electronic dance music]

0:08:57.640,0:09:02.820
So, yeah, that's it. That was actually surprisingly[br]easy to do. The second top that I made - so,

0:09:02.830,0:09:05.850
this one - actually only took me about an[br]hour to make, and that was because I wasn't

0:09:05.850,0:09:09.050
filming, I was sewing at my normal sewing[br]speed. So, yeah, you can pretty much whip

0:09:09.050,0:09:13.470
up a bunch of these in all different colours[br]in no time. And while it's a really nice basic

0:09:13.470,0:09:17.360
shirt to own that'll go with a lot of things,[br]you can also do some more interesting things

0:09:17.360,0:09:23.200
with it, with say T-shirt transfers, or fabric[br]paints, or embroidery, or using different

0:09:23.200,0:09:26.500
fabrics for the cuffs and the collar, to make[br]some really interesting tops!

0:09:26.500,0:09:28.380
And - I'll see you all for my next video.[br]Bye!

0:09:28.380,0:09:31.041
[music plays]