Fat Quarter Gang - Wellen Tank by luvinthemommyhood
June 25, 2012
Hi everyone! I'm Shannon from luvinthemommyhood and I'm here to inspire you to take some fun quilting techniques & add them into your wee ones wardrobe this summer!
This adorable tank was inspired by the beautiful coast I am so lucky to live on. The gorgeous waves never cease to take my breath away and I thought it would be fun to try to replicate the feeling of the waves with the equally gorgeous line "Summerlove" from Pat Bravo. A perfect combination - yummy summer tones reminiscent of sand and surf partnered with the swoops and curves of coastal waves.
The tank itself is simple in construction with a wide neckline & strap and an a-line cut allowing all the detail work of the curves to speak for themselves and to allow that lovely fabric to shine! It's a fun project and a great way to dive head first into sewing with curves. I'm now hopelessly addicted and dying to make a quilt to match!
So join me....take a walk along the surf, smell the ocean breeze, feel the sand between your toes and get inspired to add The Wellen Tank to your kidlets summer wardrobe!
Let's get started...
MATERIALS : - 8 Fat Quarters of Quilting cotton. I used Summerlove by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. Prints used were from "Sunkissed": Beyond Bliss Ginger, Swept Away Serenity, Tokens of Love Pink, Passionate Spirit Teal, Malibu Kiss, Naivety Berry, Sweet Days Seashell, Retro Harmony Sugar. - Approximately 44" of handmade bias tapeor 1 package pre-made. - Co-ordinating thread - Pins - Scissors/rotary cutter & mat.
PATTERN PIECE : - Download and print the "curves template" here:
*Note: When printing please make sure your printer is set to "actual size" or set your page scaling to "none". Be sure not to select "shrink to fit" or any other page scaling as this will result in your pattern pieces being the incorrect size. Pattern piece is sized to fit on a standard 8.5" x 11" page.
For the tank top pattern itself use a pre-existing garment to trace your pattern piece from. There are a lot of great tutorials online that you can find that will show you how to use an existing piece of clothing to trace out a pattern template. Make sure when making a larger/smaller size than a 2T that you adjust the amount of "curved" pieces needed. You can simply add another column of curves to increase the width and to increase the height you would add more curved pieces to the top of each column. For more instructions on how to do this please see Step One below. My tank top was a Size 2 Tank that I drafted from scratch.
*Note: The style of tank used to draft your pattern would need to have a wide neckline to allow the tank to slip over the child's head without the use of buttons, zippers or a "v" neck.
INSTRUCTIONS :
STEP ONE: PREP AND CUT YOUR FABRIC
- Print out your Curves Template Piece and cut (6) curves out of all (8) of your prints for a total of (48) curved pieces. I did this with my fabric folded so that I could cut doubles right off the bat. Make sure that when you are cutting your curved pieces that your grain line (straight grain) is going vertically. Your selvadges will be parallel to this. When you tug the fabric you should feel some give/stretch from left to right. If the give is from up/down you need to adjust your fabric.
| Starting from bottom going upwards - #1 - Passionate Spirit Teal, #2 - Sweet Days Seashell, #3 - Naivety Berry, #4 - Malibu Kiss, #5 - Retro Harmony Sugar, #6 - Tokens of Love Pink, #7 - Beyond Bliss Ginger, #8 - Swept Away Serenity |
- Lay your curved pieces out and plan your layout for your "waves". We will be assembling these in the next step in columns so it's easiest to plan your layout laying them out vertically first and then if you'd like to see the whole picture align more columns of curves beside your original column. I used the following layout shown in the picture above. - I'm all about customizing great garments for your own style/taste. The outline of the Wellen Tank is easy and quick to change. Based on the tank you are using for your pattern you can lower the neck, add a v, widen the a-line or elongate the hem - it's up to you! That's the fun part of making your own clothes! If you would like a larger/smaller size just adjust the number of curves used to make each column and the amount of rows of columns you use. We are essentially going to be creating two large rectangles made of pieced curves that are made big enough to cut your tank pattern out of. Ready to get sewing? Yay!
STEP TWO: SEWING YOUR CURVES
*Note: Your top will overlap just a bit with the point not matching up with your bottom curve. This is fine.
STEP THREE: SEWING YOUR TANK
STEP FOUR: FINISHING YOUR TANK
- With your tank right sides facing out take the edge of your bias tape (wrong side facing up) and pin along your entire armhole. Stitch down along the first crease of your bias tape. Turn the tank inside out and fold the bias tape over and under pinning as you go. You will not be able to see the bias tape from the outside now. Stitch down close to your bias tape inner edge. Repeat this for your other armhole and for your neckline. Press. Voila! You now have your very own Wellen Tank (wellen is german for waves)! You did awesome! I can't wait to see it!
You in the mood to win some fabric? Let's hear from Art Gallery Fabrics below on how to enter to win your very own bundle of Summerlove!!!!
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Until next week, <3 The Fat Quarter Gang & AGF Team