high | low

hey! remember this top? i drafted and sewed this high/low hem silk tee at the end of may and gave a quick glimpse of it during the final days of mmmay. and now here we are at the end of june and i'm finally getting it properly documented on the old blog. but thats just how it goes sometimes, isn't it?

i had bought a small amount of yardage of this tessuti silk georgette (no longer listed online) and knew i wanted to make something loose and flowy with it. i decided to try out the mullet hem trend on this top to see if i liked it, and after wearing it a few times now, both backwards (like in these pictures) and forwards, i have to admit that it definitely has its appeal. for my part - i'm much more comfortable with the length in the front and wear it backwards more often than not.

the neckline is faced with a bias strip - a technique that was used a lot with those vogue/rachel comey patterns i'm so fond of and that i found gave a nice finish for thin fabrics.

i'm also wearing some ikat shorts that i made from the leftover fabric from my dress. these were also a quick sort of "in between projects" project. i drafted the pattern using the built by wendy pants pattern i used to make my jeans and compared measurements to my one and only other pair of shorts - a blue rtw pair bought from urban outfitters many many many moons ago now.

i'm not even going to tell you how many mosquito bites i got while taking these pictures. just know that i got some of them too - so long suckers!!!!

some of you intimated that you might like a tutorial on drafting this top. let me tell you - it was so darn easy that a tutorial seems kind of silly. but ask and you shall receive! i took this as an opportunity to learn me some adobe illustrator skillzzzzzzzzz which, if we're being perfectly honest (and i'm always honest amos on this blog... pppfffttt!) was really the delay in getting this top posted in a timely fashion. but you know... its all for the sake of furthering my edumucation!! please excuse my less than smooth curves...

i used a random t-shirt pattern i happened to have to start with, but you can use a sloper, or some other basic bodice pattern that you may have on hand. since there are no darts or anything in this shirt you can just ignore them if your pattern has them.

step 1: lay your bodice block front on a table and trace the neckline and center front line. if you want you can change the shape/depth of the neckline. also determine the length you want the CF to be. i did this super low tech - just grabbed a tape measure and measured over the fullest part of my bust to where i thought i might want the hem.

step 2: put a pin at the corner where the neckline and shoulder meet. this will be your pivot point. now pivot your bodice block front out until it looks good. no really. thats what i did. okay well actually i pivoted it out until my shoulder seam was at a right angle. 

step 3: trace the new side angle and shoulder seam. extend the side seam. extend the sleeve until it looks good. you can use a measuring tape to make sure your sleeve (plus hem allowance) will be long/short enough. make sure it will be wide enough. then use your eyeballs or a french curve to connect the CF and the new extended side seam.

step 4: do the same thing for your bodice block back. make sure your shoulder, armhole, underarm and side seams are the same length as the front. extend the CB line and use your french curve or your trusty eyeballs to draw a curve for the lower hem.

step 5: lay your new shirt front and shirt back pattern side by side matching up the side seam. depending on the angle of your curved hem you may need to smooth out the curve at the side seam (mine was oddly pointy) and true all your seams.

and voila!! a high/low hem shirt pattern!! wear backwards and forwards for two fun looks!

xx