DIY – Summery Cowl Neck Top Sewing Tutorial

Ahh, summer. Expounding upon my last post, the Cowl Neck Top Sewing Tutorial with Contrasting Sleeves, I’ve decided to adjust my cowl neck pattern slightly to make a shirt perfect for summer in the office, or anywhere, really, with this Summery Cowl Neck Top sewing tutorial.

The skinny:

As a working mother with a new little boy, I really loved the shirt I made in my last post, my Cowl Neck Top with Contrasting Sleeves. I found it a nice addition to my work wardrobe, and, as a bonus, I found it extremely easy to nurse my son while in it. Win. Win.

As one project leads to another, which leads to another, I decided to continue with the cowl neck shirt theme with this piece here. As it’s summer, I am going to make a sleeveless shirt in a nice floral fabric, rocking that cowl neckline for nursing purposes. This time round, I’m going to slightly alter the shape of the cowl neck, making it have less of a drape at the very top. Read on for my step by step tutorial.

Materials:

• shirt you will use as a guide
• pattern paper
• scissors/tape/pencil

• about ¾ of a yard of floral fabric
• matching thread

A Summery Cowl Neck Top Sewing Tutorial

Instructions:

MAKING THE PATTERN

1. Fold your pattern paper in half. Take the shirt you are using as a guide, fold that in half as well. Place it on the pattern paper so that the folded edged match up. Tuck the arms under and trace around it.

Add your desired seam allowance. Cut this out. This is the back of the shirt.

2. Make a second copy of just half of the top part of the shirt. We are going to modify this for the front shirt pattern.

I’m going to try things slightly different here than I did in my first cowl neck pattern, to see how it alters the overall shape of the neckline.

Draw a straight line from the bottom of the armpit across to the middle of the shirt pattern. Cut from the middle of the shirt to the bottom of the armpit, stopping just before so you don’t separate the shirt pattern into two. It should open up as on a hinge like this.

Now, we’re going to slash and spread, so we need a fresh piece of pattern paper. Fold it in half along the vertical.  Place the pattern piece we just cut onto the new pattern paper. Open the hinge on the pattern to your desired shape. The wider you open it, the longer and deeper the cowl neck will be.

Trace around it. Mark the bottom of the armpit and the beginning of the shoulder line. At the mark of the shoulder line, make a straight line across to the middle fold.

Using your back shirt pattern, trace from the bottom of the armpit, down to the bottom of the shirt.

This is your front bodice cowl neck pattern. Cut it out.

3. Now we will make neckline lining patterns. Trace around each neckline and cut out that shape and make it 1½” wide. The neckline lining pattern for the front will literally be a straight strip.

SEWING

1. Lets get sewing. Cut out your pattern pieces from your fabric.

2. Front sides together, place the front and back shirt pieces together. Pin and sew along the shoulders. This is a little tricky because of the distorted shoulders on the front piece.

3. Next, the neckline.  Right sides together, pin and sew the ends of your neckline linings together so it forms a circle, of sorts. Pardon my super curly fabric.

Now, turn your shirt right side out, and right sides together, pin and sew the neckline lining to the top of the shirt. Make sure you match the seams on the ends together.

Roll the hem in and sew this with a wide stitch.

4. Now we will sew the sides together.  Right sides together, starting with the end of one sleeve, pin and sew along the bottom of the sleeve, to the armpit, along the side and down to the bottom of the shirt.  Repeat this for the other side and cut off any excess fabric.

5. Next, roll the hem in twice around the sleeves, pin, and sew in place.

6. Finally, hem the bottom of the shirt.

Summery Cowl Neck Top? Done.

My housekeeping notes:

Stretch Needle:  settings, 29   blank   2.5

Top stitch: settings, 29   blank   3.0